Through the Pain- Klaroline
by melissah87
Summary: All human. This is just a story of my own with the characters from the show. All of them are in college and they learn to stand together through different troubles and tragedies they face as they find their ways to happiness. Will they be strong enough to make it through the challenges or will they crumble? Klaroline focused with other pairings.
1. Chapter 1

**Extended Summary**

Everyone is human and in college. Caroline and Rebekah meet again and remember each other from the time that Rebekah was a foreign exchange in high school. Rebekah and her sibling are citizens when Caroline sees Rebekah again in the dorm room. Caroline and Rebekah will be roommates; Bonnie and Elena will be at another college and visit often. Rebekah will have Klaus and Kol attending the same college with her. Caroline will be dating Tyler, but he will be in another college where Hayley goes. Tyler fans are not going to like this story; I'm going to write him as a complete douche, but Rebekah and Klaus are going to be helping her with that problem. This story ships Klaroline, Stebekah, Kol/Bonnie, and Delena; other ships will be mentioned as well. I also had to scrunch everyone's ages closer together, so in result, Rebekah and Kol are twins and Klaus is 2 years older, Elijah 1 year older than Klaus, and Finn is 2 years older than Elijah.

**Moving In**

Caroline and her mother pulled into the campus parking lot and were lucky enough to find that Caroline's registered spot was close to the visitor lot. Liz walked over to help Caroline gets some boxes out of her car, and after they had 2 boxes a piece, Caroline locked her car so she could get the rest on a second trip. Caroline started rambling on with her excitement.

_"I can't believe I'm actually here."_

_"Me neither sweetie. I just wish you knew some people here. Why didn't you go to the same college with your friends?"_

_"I wanted to take a chance and do this on my own. It's not like we won't see each other again. All of us will be heading home every other weekend to visit each other and our families, and there are breaks."_

_"I know. Do you know where you're going in here?" _Liz asked as they entered the door.

_Yes. I studied the map of the school so I wouldn't be wondering around here when class starts. We go up two floors and then down the hall. My room will be on the right, about halfway down." _Caroline said with a smile and her mother looked at the stairs. Caroline giggled and started leading the way. When they made it near her dorm, she stopped. Caroline heard a familiar voice and smiled at her mother. _I know that voice." _She said quickly and gave a short knock before entering the dorm. _"Rebekah?"_

_"Caroline? Oh my god! What are you doing here?"_

_"It looks like we're roommates, unless you're just hiding out in here."_

_"No it's my room."_

_"Oh thank god!" _She said as she sat the boxes down on the empty bed and ran to Rebekah. Both girls came together jumping, squealing, and laughing. Liz was laughing at the girls until she noticed two guys in the room. She fixed them both a glare that said 'keep away' before looking back to the girls. She hadn't seen Rebekah for a while, and she decided to interrupt the loudness of the girls' excitement.

_"Hello again Rebekah. How have you been sweetie?"_

_"Very good Liz. I've missed you both so much."_

_"When you left, I didn't know what to do without two blondes constantly running through the house."_

_"Bekah sister, are you going to introduce us to these lovely ladies?"_

_"Back off Kol; off limits."_

_"Rebekah, I'm hurt. Must you always assume the worst with me?"_

_"With you; yes! However, this is Caroline and Liz is her mother. Caroline, Liz, these are my brothers. The one who is a complete idiot and thinks he's charming is Kol, and the one who looks like he's bored is Nik."_

_"Klaus actually. You and Kol are the only ones that call me Nik." _Klaus added with an eye roll. _"Come on Kol; let's let them get settled. I have a feeling they're going to be screeching again soon and I don't think my ears can handle another round." _Klaus said as he grabbed Kol by the shoulder and started dragging him out of the room.

_"Nice to meet you both!" _Caroline hollered and turned back to Rebekah. _"I can't believe you're here and we're roommates!"_

_"I know. This is going to be an awesome year!" _Rebekah replied and they hugged again.

_"Girls, do either of you need any more help getting stuff up here?"_

_"My brothers brought everything up for me. I can help you guys get the rest of Caroline's stuff. I know 3 sets of hands would be faster than 2."_

_"I've got 2 more boxes and my suitcases."_

_"She just couldn't leave any clothes behind." _Liz pointed out with a smile before leading the girls back down to Caroline's car. Once everything was in the room, Liz turned and looked at the girls and gave a teary smile.

_"Mom, no crying. We already agreed. If you cry, then I'm going to cry and then we'll both be messes for the rest of the day and I have to put all this stuff up; and you have to go to work."_

_"I know sweetie. I'm proud of you sweetie and I'm glad you know someone here. Rebekah sweetie, it's good to see you again. I'm sure your family is proud of you too; I know I'm happy to see you in college. Now, both of you go blow them away." _She said as she pulled them both in a hug. When they broke apart, Caroline was fanning her eyes to hold back from crying. Liz said goodbye and left the girls to unpack and organize everything.

_"So, how has everyone been since I left?" _Rebekah asked as she started hanging up her clothes. Caroline started with her boxes first so the room would be decorated.

_"Well, Elena is with Damon now. She and Bonnie are roommates at their college. Stefan decided to wait a year so he could pick the right college and Damon started working with my mom, although she's making sure they never cross paths at work. Matt and Tyler were going to be roommates, but Vicki got in an accident and Matt has to wait on college now."_

_"What happened to Vicki?"_

_"She was drinking and high and crashed her car into a tree. She died and Matt had to bury her. With his mom always gone, it fell to him. He's working at the grill to pay the bills and the rest of the funeral off before he can do what he wants."_

_"That's awful."_

_"It really is. But, at least he gets to spend more time with April since she's a senior this year. They got together a couple months before the accident."_

_"I'm surprised you two aren't still dating."_

_"He wasn't over Elena when I was with him. He is with April, so that's good. I'm with Tyler now."_

_"Tyler? Tyler Lockwood? You're kidding me! He was a total douchebag. What are you thinking?"_

_"He changed after a while. We've been through a lot together."_

_"When I was there, he was sneaking around with Vicki."_

_"They broke up and she got with Jeremy before she died. And we all found out that Tyler was a jerk because his dad was hitting him. His dad died right after Vicki and I made friends with him. We got together not long after that."_

_"Well I'm rooting for you to find someone here or when you graduate. I think you can do better."_

_"I am not even going to look at other guys here. By the way, Tyler is coming by tonight to take me to the first party here. Are you coming?"_

_"I'm going, but I really don't want to hang around Lockwood. I'll probably hang with my brothers while you two dance or something."_

_"You can hang with us. He's only going to be here for a little while because I won't see him for 2 weeks. That reminds me; every other weekend I'm heading home to see everybody. You're welcome to come stay at my house when I go, if you ever want to get out of here."_

_"I will most likely take you up on that offer. It either that or I'll be stuck with my brothers while you're gone. You know we all moved here right after Kol and I graduated. Kol, Nik, and I are here, and the rest of the family live in D.C."_

_"So did you guys become citizens or are you just here on a visa?"_

_"We're all citizens now except for Finn and his wife. They stayed in London."_

_"What made you all want to move here permanently?"_

_"My youngest brother died. You remember I said we had a brother named Henrik? Well, our family had a driver that picked him up and dropped him off at his after school activities. He was on his way home from one of his academic teams when they were struck by a car that was fleeing the police. It pushed them into another car. There was a big pile-up and his neck broke."_

_"God Bekah, I'm sorry. I wished I would have known. Mom would have sent me over on the first flight."_

_"I know, but we hadn't spoken in months, so I didn't want to bother you."_

_"When did it happen?"_

_"Last year."_

_"When?"_

_"In September."_

_"That's when my dad died. My dad died one week after my birthday."_

_"Henrik died a week before your birthday."_

_"That's weird and a little creepy if you think about it."_

_"Yeah it is. What happened to your dad?"_

_"Cancer. He didn't find out until it was too late to do anything about it."_

_"I'm sorry. Okay, let's move away from these subjects and get ready for the party. What are you wearing?" _Rebekah asked, trying to move away from the subject of death. Caroline went to the suitcase and pulled out her dress and heels. _"Oh I love that dress. I didn't think I would have much reason to dress up that much, so I didn't bring my party dresses."_

_"I have others that you can borrow. That's one of the best things about us being roommates; we get to borrow each other's clothes." _Caroline said with a laugh as she pulled out another dress and pair of heels before tossing them to her. Rebekah looked like she was going to drool before they started changing into the dresses. They decided to wait until they left to put on their heels and they finished up their room before heading out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Party and Promises**

The girls walked into the sorority house and went straight to the drinks. Caroline asked Rebekah to wait with her by the door so she could see Tyler when he came, and she agreed. Rebekah saw her brothers talking to some girls. Klaus looked bored still and Kol was having a field day with all the women around. Caroline kept checking her phone to see the time and didn't see when Tyler walked in.

_"Waiting on a call?"_

_"Tyler! I was checking the time again. You're late." _She said with a smile as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She felt him squeeze her roughly, but not enough for anyone to notice.

_"It's not my fault you chose a campus full of idiots, and what are you wearing? Do you want to look like a whore?"_

_"I wore it for you. Tyler please not here. I didn't do anything."_

_"Whatever Caroline. I'm getting a beer." _He said as he let go of her and went towards the keg. Caroline took a minute to make sure no one noticed before putting a smile back on her face and turning to Rebekah.

_"What was that all about?"_

_"What?"_

_"He looks like he's mad."_

_"He just had a hard time finding this place, and he's been setting up his dorm the last couple days. He had to drive for a while to get here. He'll be better later."_

_"Is he staying?"_

_"He brought some of his friends so he wouldn't be driving back drunk."_

_"Good. Listen, I'm going to go dance. Want to come with me?"_

_"I have to wait on Tyler or he'll think I'm flirting with the other guys. Give me 5 minutes and I'll be there."_

_"Okay. See you out there." _Rebekah replied as she started working her way to the dance area. Caroline made her way over to Tyler and did her best to pull him to the dance floor. He gave her a look before accepting and following her. She excitedly pointed out Rebekah and told him about how glad she was to see her again. After a couple hours, Tyler was starting to sway from the drinking and Caroline told Rebekah that she needed to help him find his friends, but she would meet her back at the dorm. Rebekah set out to look for her brothers, while Caroline led Tyler outside.

_"Tyler, where did you tell everyone to meet you?"_

_"I have to text them when I want to leave."_

_"Why don't you do that, and I'll help you get there?"_

_"What makes you think I'm ready to leave yet?"_

_"Tyler you're drunk."_

_"And I drove all the way out here to see you. The least you could do is give me something for my troubles."_

_"Tyler, we can't out here and Rebekah was heading back to the dorm."_

_"I'm sure we can find somewhere private." _He said as he grabbed her arm tightly and started tugging her towards the back of a building. She looked around and could see people walking around. She tried to not let anyone see what was happening. When they were at the side of the building, he pushed her against the wall.

_"Tyler, not tonight; not here." _She rasped from the pain of hitting the wall. He pounded both his fist against the wall next to her and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. _"Tyler please."_

_"Please what Caroline? You know how upset you get me. You do it on purpose. You asked me to come here to that pathetic party, you dress like a slut and say it's for me, you make me dance with you while I'm trying to drink just to get me riled up and then you say you don't want it." _He said as he moved his hands down to her shoulders to shake her before pushing her against the wall again.

_"Tyler I didn't do anything. Just stop it, you're hurting me."_

_"You always make me hurt you Caroline. Why do you have to fight me on everything?" _He hissed as he pulled her head back with her hair and looked at her.

_"Tyler please, not tonight. I'm tired; I moved everything into the dorm today and got it all unpacked and we just danced for hours. We'll see each other in a couple weeks and we'll have a better place then. Just please not tonight."_

_"Fine, I'll see you in two weeks." _He said as he released her hair and pushed her against the wall. _"You've been like this for months Caroline; ever since you got pregnant. I told you I didn't want a baby, but you just weren't smart enough to keep that from happening."_

_"Tyler you made me lose the baby."_

_"You should have listened to me then. You didn't and you paid the consequences. I didn't want to hurt you and I still don't, but you won't listen to me; you just keep fighting against me. You're only hurting yourself. Just don't forget that I was the only one to pick you instead of your precious friend Elena. No one will ever love you like I do."_

_"I love you too Tyler. I'm sorry okay? Let's just find your friends so they can take you home, okay?"_

_"I don't need your help. I'll find them on my own." _He said before he kissed her roughly and pushed her against the wall again before walking away. Caroline took a couple breaths before falling to the ground, silently crying. She heard footsteps coming towards her from around the building and stood quickly, wiping her eyes before trying to walk out of there.

_"Caroline?"_

_"Oh, you're Rebekah's brother. Is she back at the dorm?"_

_"I would assume so. Kol walked her back. Mind telling me why you put up with that?"_

_"What?"_

_"Don't play dumb with me Caroline; I was walking towards the front when that guy pulled you back here. I ducked out of sight, but there isn't another way to get where I needed to go, but past you guys."_

_"Don't tell Bekah." _She said as she tried to turn and walk away again.

_"You need out of that relationship. He's just going to keep going until one of you is dead."_

_"He's not always like that. It looks worse than it is."_

_"No it doesn't. I won't say anything to my sister, but you shouldn't wait around for him to change."_

_"He's been through a lot, okay?"_

_"Is that why he made you lose your baby?"_

_"You heard that?"_

_"Yes."_

_"I wouldn't get an abortion and we were in high school. His dad was mayor, but when he died, Tyler's mom took over. He was thinking of what would happen if everyone knew that the mayor's son knocked up the sheriff's daughter."_

_"How did he do it?"_

_"I don't want to talk about it, okay? It just happened, but it's over now. He's getting better and he'll get back to how he was soon."_

_"You're an idiot if you believe that."_

_"No, I just don't give on people I love. It means I care." _She said as she turned away again and walked away. Klaus ran after her; he wasn't going to let her walk back alone after the night she had.

_"Listen, it's not my business, but I'll make you a promise love. I won't say anything to anybody about it, but if he doesn't get better or he gets worse will you get help?"_

_"I don't need help."_

_"Yes, you do, but I just said I wouldn't say anything. What happens if he does that again and someone else sees? What if my sister saw it? If Kol had been the one to see you two, he would have ran to Rebekah first thing."_

_"Why does it matter to you? You don't know me or anything, so just don't get involved."_

_"You're right; I don't know you, but my sister does. You're her roommate and friend; I won't have caught in the crossfire from you two."_

_"She won't be unless you tell her. She didn't like him in school, so I know she'd probably go to the cops if she knew. My mom is the sheriff and I don't want to see her go against him and his mother. His mother and my mother have been friends since they were in school together. I can handle it, so just don't think on it."_

_"That's not a problem love. Like I said, it's not my business." _He said as they reached the building she was in. _"You should be good from here. Do yourself a favor and be careful."_

_"Thanks for walking me back here. You didn't have to. And thanks for agreeing to keep quiet about what you saw."_

_"I haven't yet. I want you to promise that you'll get help if it gets worse or doesn't stop."_

_"I can't give up on him."_

_"I understand you care about him, but is it worth your life?" _He asked seriously and she shook her head while holding back tears. _"Then will you get help?"_

_"If I need to I will, but I won't have to. I better get inside and get some sleep. Class starts early for me in the morning."_

_"Same here. Goodnight Caroline and it was good meeting you too."_

_"Goodnight Klaus." _She said as she walked inside. She went upstairs and gathered everything for a shower, hoping there would be a free one to use. She would have to figure out when no one would be in there so she could shower the next few days. She looked down at her arm and saw that it was already trying to bruise. She gathered a long sleeve shirt to use instead of a tank top, even though they were having a heat wave. When she walked into the shower room, she was thrilled that no one was in there. She put her clothes in the booth and put her towel on the hook outside the stall before stepping into the shower and turning it on. After showering, she wrapped the towel around her and stepped out towards the mirrors. She started dressing and noticed her back was sorer than she realized. She turned to look at it and noticed the wall had scraped her and she was starting to bruise back there as well. She quickly finished dressing and drying her hair to go back to her room. When she got there, Rebekah was still asleep in the same spot as when Caroline had come and got her clothes. Caroline turned on a book light and reviewed her schedule so she could put the right books in her bag for the next day before setting her clock and lying down herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**New Day with New Friends**

Caroline went to her first class of the day and was relieved that Rebekah and her brothers didn't have it. She didn't know if Klaus was going to keep quiet or not, but she hoped he would. She decided to focus on her classes instead of her problems and started taking notes from the board. When that class was over, she headed to her second one and saw Rebekah enter the room. Rebekah smiled brightly and went to sit next to Caroline.

_"Well now I know we have at least one class together. You never showed me your schedule."_

_"Here." _Caroline replied as she pulled the paper out of her purse and handed it to her.

_"Okay, we have this class and we have the same business class together. Oh and you have a couple classes with Nik. Don't worry; he won't bother you. Be glad you don't have nay with Kol because he would annoy you so much. You would probably have to change classes to get him to leave you alone."_

_"Which classes to I have to endure your other brother in?" _She asked nervously.

_"Well you guys both have an art class together; which doesn't surprise me since he's into art and you have to have it to be in designing. Then you have the same computer class."_

_"How did I get any classes with your brother? He's older than us."_

_"Because computer class is required here. It wasn't at his old college. Like I said; don't worry because he won't bother you. Just be glad you didn't have to meet his ex-girlfriend. She was a real tramp bitch; she slept with our brother Elijah."_

_"Why would Elijah sleep with her if she was with Klaus?"_

_"Tatia has a twin. Her twin is with Elijah and she pulled a trick on him."_

_"How did they find out then?"_

_"Elijah noticed Tatia's tattoo. Her sister didn't have that one. Elijah left the room and told Kat and Nik both right after it happened. Kat told her sister she wasn't going to talk to her again and now she and Elijah are engaged. Nik left Tatia that night. We haven't heard from her since it all happened. That's why Nik looks bored all of the time. He doesn't worry with relationships anymore; he's more like Kol now."_

_"Wow. That had to suck. Do you have a class after this one? I was going to grab a coffee and something to eat because I'm done with class until tomorrow."_

_"I'm free until 3:30."_

_"Come eat with me after then."_

_"We'll have to join my brothers. They're free too."_

_"That's fine as long as they behave."_

_"Let me deal with Kol."_

_"Okay." _She finished as the professor came in and everybody stopped talking. Caroline pulled out her book and opened it up to the page the professor had said. Both girls kept exchanging glances when the teacher would use something silly to make a comparison. When class was over, they headed to the campus food center and got lunch and coffee. Rebekah led Caroline over to the grassy area with trees before sitting down next to one of the shadiest trees.

_"They'll meet us here. Their classes let out a little later than ours, but that gives us a few minutes of peace to eat without them." _She said as she poked her salad around her plate.

_"You still eat your salad that way?"_

_"Yes." _She answered as she separated all the ingredients to eat separately.

_"You've got to try their pulled pork. I feel like I just took a vacation." _Caroline said around her food and leaned the sandwich towards Rebekah. Rebekah took her fork and tore out a piece on the side before trying it and kicking her feet to show her approval.

_"I'm getting that tomorrow. That is absolutely delicious."_

_"I know. I almost got something else, but then I smelled this. I couldn't resist it."_

_"I don't see how you could have. Did you get your normal coffee?"_

_"I haven't had that coffee in a while. I started drinking it like this after you left." _She said as she handed her the cup. Rebekah tried it and started coughing.

_"Are you trying to develop diabetes or put yourself in some kind of sugar coma?"_

_"I just like staying awake."_

_"I'm not going to be able to sleep for a week from one sip."_

_"I'm used to it."_

_"Aren't you hot? It's like a hundred degrees outside." _Rebekah asked as she started fanning herself and noticed Caroline in long sleeves.

_"Well it's not inside. I'm cold in class and in the dorms." _Caroline replied trying to throw Rebekah off.

_"I don't know how you stand it. You could always just carry a jacket."_

_"I'm inside more than I'm outside. I'll be fine. I dread winter though. I'm going to be freezing all the time."_

_"Well we could always double up like we did on sleepovers."_

_"That sounds like fun."_

_"So where did you and Tyler run off to last night? I tried to wait up for you, but I fell asleep."_

_"Nowhere. I had to help him find his friends so he could go back to his school." _Caroline answered, trying to get the subject off Tyler.

_"Did he ever improve his mood?"_

_"He's been through a lot Bekah and he already started classes. He was tired and just wanted to spend time with me; not go to a party."_

_"So do you two have any plans for when you go back for a visit?"_

_"Yes. You're invited back with me, but I will have to disappear some to see him privately." _She said with a small giggle, hoping Rebekah would leave it at that, but she doubted it.

_"That's fine with me. I know you two need time to do the dirty tango."_ Rebekah said a little loud and Caroline blushed.

_"Bekah! Keep it down. The world does not need to hear about what we do in private."_

_"That's fine. I see Kol coming, so you better be ready to fight off unwanted flirting."_

_"Great. That's just what I need." _She said sarcastically and laughed.

_"And what are you two laughing about on this wonderful day?"_

_"Nothing Kol; now behave yourself or we'll both smack you." _Rebekah warned and Caroline laughed.

_"I was just asking how your day has gone." _Kol teased.

_"We're fine Kol. We were talking about when she goes with me when I visit everyone back home."_

_"When are you doing that?"_

_"Well I'm going every other weekend. My friends and boyfriend are doing the same so we all get to see each other more than just on breaks. I'd say Rebekah will still go with you all to visit your family when we have break." _Caroline informed.

_"Ah a boyfriend. That's a shame." _Kol snapped his fingers and smirked.

_"Is that all you got out of that?" _Caroline asked while rolling her eyes and looking to Rebekah.

_"Kol! Caroline is off limits from your unwanted flirting. Now, how has your day been?"_

_"It's been fine sister. Caroline, do you have any single friends?"_

_"One, but she just became single and you will leave her alone if you ever meet her."_

_"Why is everyone being mean to me today?" _Kol asked no one and looked at the sky waving his arms. The girls laughed, but nearly jumped out of their skins when Klaus answered.

_"Probably because you never shut up." _Klaus spoke as he rolled his eyes and sat next to his brother facing the girls.

_"Caroline won't introduce me to her single friend." _Kol said with a pout. Klaus was about to say something to him, but Caroline beat him to it.

_"That's because she just got single again from a relationship that lasted for a while. He wasn't over someone and then he cheated on her. Like I said; IF you ever meet her, you will leave her alone." _She finished and glared at him.

_"Nik; I'm afraid. She's meaner than Bekah."_

_"Hey I resent that." _Rebekah spoke up.

_"Well Kol, if you were smart you wouldn't go against either of them because they would gang up together against you. If you're afraid of one, just imagine what they would both be like against you."_

_"I will forever have nightmares about them hurting me now."_

_"Only if you piss us off brother." _Rebekah said with a mock evil laugh.

_"You're safe for now Kol. Mess with my friends and you might not be though." _Caroline continued and gave her own mock evil laugh. Kol looked to Klaus and saw him trying to keep from laughing.

_"Nik you're supposed to take my side on this and you're laughing."_

_"It's hilarious brother."_

_"Hey Caroline!" _They all heard and she turned to the person.

_"Um, how do you know me?" _She asked as she stood to talk to the newcomer.

_"Sorry, it's Jesse. I'm the TA in your math class. The professor wanted me to track you down and give you this. He said to tell you that he was impressed with your scores and that you should think about taking my place when I leave soon."_

_"Oh, I didn't recognize you from class. I'm sorry."_

_"It's alright. These are the papers you would need to fill out and he has already said you would be great at it."_

_"I don't really want to be a TA. How do I tell him that without him taking it offensively?"_

_"I'm not for sure. You'll just have to discuss it with him. I was surprised that you had such high scores, but you're going into designing."_

_"Well I want to run my own business, so I had to have some math classes."_

_"Why designing? Sorry, if I'm getting into your business, but I'm curious. You already test out of most of these classes here. Why didn't you go to a better school?"_

_"Um, well I didn't want to. I've had what I wanted to do planned since I was a kid and I didn't want to change it."_

_"Well I can respect that, but you might want to say something else to the professor."_

_"Thanks for the advice, but I won't let him try to push over me. I have a plan and I'm sticking to it. Being a TA is not part of that plan. I'll see you soon." _She said as she turned and sat back down with a huff as she pulled her hair up to get relief from the heat and frustration. She tied it up and popped her neck before pulling out her book and instructing Rebekah to do the same.

_"So are you some secret evil genius or something?" _Kol asked.

_"Evil no, genius yes. Caroline was top of the class in school." _Rebekah answered for her. Caroline gave her a look and shook her head before explaining.

_"My dad always said to learn as much as I could so I could have a back-up plan if it turned out that clothes weren't my specialty."_

_"Did you ever come up with a back-up plan?" _Klaus asked seriously.

_"I thought about it, but I couldn't settle on anything. I like designing clothes. I designed my own dress for the Miss Mystic competition and I won, so that has to count for something."_

_"I remember that. You drove me and Liz crazy with all the material that you brought in the house." _Rebekah said as she drifted in memory with a smile.

_"It wasn't that much material. I just wanted it to be perfect and I needed two different colors, with 3 different materials. It was a nightmare, but I got it done."_

_"And you want to do that all of the time?" _Kol chimed in.

_"Yes. I made a lot of the things I wore to school, and I made the dresses Rebekah and I was wearing last night."_

_"Oh my god I loved that dress. I was wondering where you got it from." _Rebekah said in a rush.

_"You can have them, and I'll make more." _Caroline offered with a smile. When she turned towards Rebekah to say that, her hair stayed in placed and Kol saw her upper back. He was about to ask when Klaus grabbed him and shook his head. He leaned over and said he would tell him later but to keep quiet. Klaus told the girls that he and Kol were going to get their food, but to wait there. Rebekah and Caroline agreed and went back to chatting about the high school days. Klaus and Kol grabbed their food and went to a more private area to talk.

_"Okay Nik. What the hell happened to her back?"_

_"Her boyfriend, but you can't say anything. Just leave her alone and let her handle it. You know if you say something to Rebekah everything will blow up on her. Just keep it from Rebekah and I'll help her."_

_"Why you?"_

_"Because I'm the one who hasn't been trying to get into her pants."_

_"You can't deny that you would if you had a chance to."_

_"I never said I would or wouldn't Kol, but she's our sister's friend. Do you not remember how much she used to talk about that girl when she came back home? She was like the sister that Bekah never got, and if memory serves me correct, Caroline doesn't have any siblings. I was heading back to the party when I saw everything. Kol, he threw her into the wall so many times, I'm surprised she's walking today. Before that, he had a hold of her arm, so I'm betting that that's why she's wearing long sleeves today. She knows I know, but she made me promise to not say anything to Bekah."_

_"Why did you agree to that Nik?"_

_"I made a deal. I wouldn't say anything if she would get help if he didn't stop or get worse."_

_"You know she won't do that Nik. She's acting like there's nothing wrong with her."_

_"That's why I said I would help her. If she knows that I told you, she'd use that to back out of the deal I made with her. So just act like you don't know and let me handle it."_

_"I want to help Nik. I won't say anything, but let me help. Rebekah's our only sister and Caroline and her got really close when she stayed over here. Do you remember when we used to tease her about the two of them in photos? Did you ever actually look at the photos? They were really happy. Caroline made our sister feel welcome and happy when she didn't have anyone over here. I'd say we owe her."_

_"Precisely. Alright, so here's the plan for your part. Aggravate Rebekah like you always do. When Rebekah gets frustrated with you, she leaks information out on accident. Just find out what you can that could possibly help the situation."_

_"Alright. What I don't get is why she won't just leave him"_

_"She said that she loved him and you don't give up on someone you love."_

_"She sounds way more loyal than she should be. Watch yourself Nik; you might just fall for her."_

_"Tell me Kol; what would that accomplish? I just think we should help our sister's friend. She doesn't want help, so it won't be easy. Now let's get back before they suspect something is up."_

_"Yes, because if Caroline is testing higher than the classes here, that means she's smart and most likely observant." _He said as they went to walk back to the girls. When they got back they saw Caroline on the phone. She started smiling as the conversation continued.

_"What's up with her Bekah?"_

_"Stefan's on the phone with good news apparently."_

_"Who's Stefan?"_

_"Oh, he's one of her best friends. He used to date Elena, but she's with his brother now. Him and Caroline stayed friends after that."_

_"OH MY GOD! REALLY?!" _Caroline screeched as she stood and started jumping up and down. She finished her call with a huge smile on her face before making Rebekah stand up with her. _"Guess what Bekah! Stefan is coming to school here with us!"_

_"What?"_

_"Yea, he's starting next week. Isn't that exciting?"_

_"He used to call us the doublemint twins."_

_"He was just teasing us because we were so similar in everything. I told him you were here."_

_"And what did he say?"_

_"He said he couldn't wait to see you again. He said he's ready to accept that we rule and he wants to team up with us in our quest to conquer the world. I told him that we had to get through college first."_

_"At least he's gotten smarter up since I last saw him. Remember when he and Damon thought they could sabotage the cheer routine during homecoming?"_

_"Yes; it was almost a disaster. I guess they didn't expect us to finish if we were all soaked."_

_"Too bad for them. I remembered the crowd thinking it was part of the routine."_

_"Well a bunch of girls cheering in short skirts and wet tops did look a little planned."_

_"Yeah, but they got suspended."_

_"They deserved it. Half the squad got sick."_

_"It was cold outside; I was just glad that I had padding in certain areas."_

_"Told you it was best to be prepared."_

_"Okay ladies; I have the feeling that this conversation is about to become highly inappropriate for our ears, so you might want to change the subject." _Klaus interrupted and they laughed.

_"Nik they were talking about a cheerleading routine that got turned into a wet t-shirt competition. Why would you stop them?" _Kol asked.

_"Because one of them is our dear sister and I don't want to hear that kind of stuff. Although, please tell me that incident was the wildest thing that occurred during your exchange program." _Klaus answered and asked.

_"Wouldn't you boys like to know?" _Rebekah countered and Caroline snickered before falling to the ground laughing. _"If that's any indication of an answer, I don't want to know."_

_"What are you remembering Care?" _Rebekah asked.

_"Just… the… time… we… all… went… swimming… and… the… tire… swing." _Caroline managed to say while laughing so hard she had tears start forming. Rebekah started laughing along with Caroline and the guys just sat down and waited for an explanation. _"I think I just got you in trouble Bekah." _Caroline laughed.

_"That day was awful. I swear Damon was the worst to be around."_

_"He still is, but Elena obviously fell for his trickster ways."_

_"Maybe there's hope for Kol then." _Rebekah joked and they both started squealing with laughter. Kol grumbled before looking to his brother for help.

_"Does someone want to fill us in?" _Klaus asked.

_"I'll tell it." _Caroline said before coughing to stop herself from laughing. She was still barely containing it when she started. _"Okay, so there was this old tire swing up at Elena's family's lake house. It had a really good cable on it, so we all decided to swing and jump off at once, so me, Bekah, Elena, and Bonnie went first. What we didn't know was that Damon had climbed the tree with a set of cable cutters. When we were over the water, he cut the cable. We were all in bikinis, so with being unprepared for the fall, we didn't have time to make sure they didn't come off. All our tops either came off or got lopsided and we all ended up falling on each other. We were all scrambling to get covered that we ended up grabbing the wrong tops. Only Bonnie managed to not lose her top completely, so me, Bekah, and Elena came out of the water in each other's tops. But we got our payback. We all crashed at the cabin that night and we took the guys out on their air mattresses and put them in the lake. We locked the doors when we came back in and woke up to Damon, Stefan, and Matt soaking wet and banging on the door."_

_"You guys are cruel." _Kol remarked.

_"I wasn't done. We set up cameras on the roof and captured everything with them. It made Damon finally back off with his pranks, which kept Stefan and Matt out of trouble."_

_"Did I say cruel? How about evil?" _Kol said and scooted away from them.

_"Oh come on; I haven't played a prank in over a year." _Caroline said with a laugh.

_"I'm still surprised you and Matt broke up." _Rebekah mused.

_"You know he wasn't over Elena. We were friends and thought we could be more, but he ended up not being ready for it."_

_"Why not after he got over her?"_

_"I was with Tyler by then. We're way better as friends anyway. When we were together, it still felt like we were just friends and Elena wouldn't butt out of it. She didn't back off until after we broke up."_

_"And you said he's with April now?"_

_"Yea. She helped him get through Vicki dying." _Caroline said as she sobered up from laughing completely.

_"Is it too personal to ask who Vicki was?" _Kol asked, noticing the girls' reactions.

_"Vicki was Matt's sister and Jeremy's girlfriend. April helped Matt and Bonnie helped Jeremy. Bonnie and Jeremy got together, but he slept with Anna and messed that up." _Caroline answered.

_"Anna? The girl that had been in home school?" _Rebekah asked.

_"Yea that one. They're together now." _Caroline said with a nod and twisted her lips. _"Anyway, we're all still friends, so it doesn't matter much now."_

_"So, how did you meet your boyfriend? And how did he snag you?" _Kol asked as he waggled his eyebrows.

_"I'm the sheriff's daughter and he's the mayor's son. We grew up together. He was a jerk football player and I was captain of the cheerleading team. We never got along, but we became friends when his dad died, and then we became more when mine died. We've just been through a lot together." _She said quickly and avoided Klaus' face. He looked at Kol and gave a wink so the girls wouldn't see.

_"Okay you have things in common. How did he snag you?"_

_"Rebekah could tell you that everybody always liked Elena. She got everything she wanted without even trying; that included guys. Tyler didn't want Elena; ever. He used to be with Vicki too, you know. She was cheating on Tyler with Jeremy when she died. Jeremy is Elena's little brother, so you can imagine the strain between them. They eventually made up when Tyler's dad died. Everything just got so messed up the last couple of years. He was the one constant thing in my life that I could depend on. He was there for me in a way that no one had been before, and I didn't have to worry about him wanting Elena. I know that sounds selfish, and it probably is because she's one of my best friends, but if you knew my track history, you would probably agree with me."_

_"I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"_

_"Fine. Bekah remembers part of it, so she can fill in anything I forget. Okay, I'll start when Stefan and Damon moved to town. We all saw Stefan first and I flirted, but he had already seen Elena and went for her. He got her with no problem, and Matt was steaming. We saw Damon next and he came on to me. I of course had my round of stupidity and went out with him for a while. That was probably one of the stupidest things I've ever done. About the same time I was helping Matt get through his problems with Elena and then I found out that Damon was using me to get closer to Elena. So, we broke up and Matt started helping me get over getting used. We got together about the same time that Rebekah came to school, so she saw us when we were in a good place. What she didn't see was how Elena kept popping in and referencing her relationship with Matt in regards to my relationship with him. It led us to a lot of arguments and I would usually walk away and he would follow to try and tell me he was over her, but he wasn't. I eventually got tired of everybody stepping in and we broke up. That was about 3 or 4 months after Rebekah left. A few weeks later, Tyler's dad died. He started acting out in class and on the field. We all knew what his dad was like with him, but he still loved his dad. I started talking to him and we became friends. His grades came up and he started becoming someone new; better. Then my dad found out he had cancer and it was too late to do anything. Tyler was a friend to me then. Then Vicki died and he stayed at my house most of the time so he wouldn't go back to where he was when his dad died. I needed a friend then too, so my mom didn't say anything. About a week and a half after my dad died, he kissed me. I told him I didn't want a relationship and he didn't need another one so soon. He didn't try again for a while. About 2 months after that, we were at a party and had been dancing with other people. We were drinking and making jokes about our dates that night when he kissed me again. One thing led to another and we were together since that night."_

_"You know Care, you never told me if it was Damon or Matt that sunk their teeth into you first." _Rebekah said seriously and gave her friend the 'I want to know' look.

_"And that is nobody's business Bekah." _She said and gave a glare.

_"Will you tell me later?"_

_"I'll whisper it to you know if you shut up about it." _She said and pulled Rebekah over to her. Rebekah's jaw dropped and she gave Caroline a look and shook her hands from wanting to say something, but Caroline gave her the 'don't say anything' face and an evil smile.

_"Do we not get to know?" _Kol asked.

_"NO! That is girl talk only." _Caroline explained and moved her finger between her and Rebekah.

_"Can we make bets?" _Kol pushed.

_"NO! Stay out of it. I didn't explain everything so you could ask that." _Caroline said through grit teeth as her cheeks started turning pink. _"Don't any of you have class anyway?"_

_"I do in about 30 minutes." _Kol said.

_"I've got about the same amount of time." _Rebekah said.

_"I'm good until 5, so don't look at me. I'm being good anyway. Don't you have class?" _Klaus answered and asked.

_"Nope, I'm done for the day. I have all my classes early so my evenings are free." _Caroline said proudly.

_"No wonder your coffee is diabetes in a cup." _Rebekah remarked and made a face.

_"Why did she just call your coffee that?" _Kol asked curiously. Caroline pulled the lid off and offered him a drink. He looked at it before taking a small sip. _"Good god woman; your coffee is purely demonic. Nik, this is worse than yours." _Kol exclaimed and handed it back to her. Klaus held out his hand wanting to try it, and she passed it to him. Klaus lifted it and took a big sip before calmly handing it back to her. She replaced the lid and looked for his reaction.

_"It is worse than mine. How many cups a day do you drink that stuff love?" _Klaus asked as he let a small cough slip.

_"This is my fourth cup today and I don't have a problem with it." _She said and turned the cup up to down the rest of it. She tossed the cup to the rest of her pile and raised her eyebrow at everyone. _"Since I don't have class, I better track down my professor and let him know I'm not interested in being a TA. This is going to be fun; day one and I'm going to have to have a long discussion with a teacher."_

_"Well, Kol and I have to go to our classes. Nik, why don't you walk her there? You're free until evening anyway." _Rebekah interrupted before Caroline could walk away.

_"He doesn't have to. I think I'm capable of walking to his office Bekah and I don't want to bother him."_

_"You aren't bothering me love, and no one said you weren't capable of walking to his office. I have nothing else to do, so I might as well hang around someone we know." _Klaus interrupted as he stood to brush his pants off. Caroline looked to Rebekah and narrowed her eyes before reaching down to get her trash and throw it away. She came back to grab her bag and say goodbye to Rebekah. Rebekah gave her a tight hug that Caroline made a face with before pushing down the pain in her back. She watched Rebekah and Kol start walking off before she turned and crossed her arms while she walked. She figured Klaus had offered on purpose and wanted to say something, so she remained silent. _"Are you alright?"_

_"Yea I'm fine."_

_"How's your back love?"_

_"It's fine, and please don't call me that. I know it's common in England, but just use my name or Care please."_

_"What's the matter with calling you love sweetheart?" _He asked with a smirk and she huffed before looking at him seriously. _"Alright, I'll try to resist Caroline." _He said and she chuckled at how he said her name before picking her pace back up. _"In all seriousness, how is your back? I saw you wince when Bekah hugged you."_

_"It's fine."_

_"Now, why don't I believe you love?" _He mused out loud and she gave him a look. _"I know what I called you and I did it on purpose. You won't tell me how you're really doing, so why should I listen to you?"_

_"Why are you so worried about it? I'm keeping Rebekah out of it. In turn, that means it's not really your business as long as she don't get involved."_

_"Listen, you're right; it isn't really my business, but I saw and heard what happened. I'm just being concerned for my sister's only friend here."_

_"I'll be fine and Stefan will be another friend for Bekah when he gets here, so you don't have to worry about me."_

_"Can I see your back?"_

_"No."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because I barely know you and I'm not comfortable showing that much skin to someone I don't know?"_

_"You were a cheerleader, so I know you've shown more skin. Come on. You can wait 10 extra minutes to talk to your teacher. If it isn't that bad, I won't bring it up again."_

_"I've already seen it. It isn't that bad."_

_"We'll see. Come on."_

_"Where are we going?"_

_"Your dorm room." _He answered and steered them towards the correct building. _"By the way, I've already covered for you once today. Might I suggest keeping your hair down? Kol saw the top of your back and I said you and Tyler got a little too frisky."_

_"Rebekah didn't see it, did she?"_

_"I doubt it. If she had, she would have asked." _He explained as she pulled her hair down and winced a little since Tyler had pulled her hair the night before. They walked into the room and she placed her bag on the bed before grabbing the papers out of it and putting them in her purse. She checked her phone when she heard it ding with a message, and saw a message from Stefan explaining he would arrive the next day, but he still wouldn't start classes for a week. She relayed everything to Klaus and he gave her a look. _"Don't stall; just turn around and hold your arms up to you so your shirt still covers your front." _He instructed and she sighed before turning slowly. Klaus walked over to her and reached for the bottom of her shirt and she tensed when she felt his fingers brush her skin. He lifted the shirt from her as gently as he could and tried to not touch her, but the shirt was pretty tight against her skin. _"You're in your bra, so just pretend it's a bathing suit top for a minute and let me take this top off of you. You're covered and you know it." _He said and she pulled the shirt over her head and held it against her chest. What she didn't see was Klaus snapping a picture silently with his phone. He put it back in his pocket and walked in front of her. He saw that the bruises wrapped around to her shoulders from the grip Tyler had on her and on her sides and hips. He also noticed the yellowish bruises that signaled to him that this wasn't the only recent time. He was surprised she had worn a dress the night before with how many bruises she had been hiding already. He nodded to let her know she could put her shirt back on and she quickly dressed again without looking at him.

_"There. You've seen what it looks like, so drop it. It's not that bad, and they'll disappear in a couple days." _She said and grabbed her purse to leave, but Klaus stopped her.

_"Wait! I'm still walking you there. I won't say anything to you, but if it's been worse than this, what's to stop him from putting you in the hospital or killing you?"_

_"He won't go that far okay? Please, just stay out of this." _She begged.

_"You're too loyal for your own good in this situation. Has he even called to try and apologize or see how you were today?"_

_"He sent a text this morning."_

_"A text? He's worse than I thought. He couldn't pick up the phone, or better, drive up and check on you? What did the text say?"_

_"That he would see me next weekend."_

_"He didn't try to apologize?"_

_"No because the fight started over me."_

_"It doesn't matter what the fight was about love. He shouldn't have taken his anger out on you."_

_"I was holding back from him. He won't use anything and I don't want to get pregnant again. I was on birth control the last time. I just started college. I want to build a life for myself before I even think about that. I just switched from the pill to the shot. I have to wait a little while for my body to transition by using back-up. Okay? Are you happy that I explained it to you now?" _She asked as she walked to door and threw it open to stomp out of the room. She jogged down the hallway and to the stairs as he came out of the room and closed the door. He jogged to catch up with her, but she was out of sight when he came out of the building. He wasn't for sure which professor she had and he had a while until Klaus started, so he decided to walk around. Caroline watched from the side of the building as Klaus walked away and made her way to the professor's office.

Caroline spent 30 minutes telling her professor that she wasn't interested in the TA position until she nearly snapped. She politely laid the papers down on the table, said she wouldn't change her mind or regret her decision, and calmly walked out of his office. She walked outside and sat down on a nearby bench to clear her mind. She checked her phone again before trying to call her mom. When her mom didn't answer, she left a voicemail and tried to call Tyler. She knew he wasn't in class, but he wouldn't answer his phone. She left him a voicemail and checked the time again. It was only about 4, so she decided to go get something to eat off campus. She walked to her car, and was about to open the door, but she got interrupted.

_"I'm not happy that you told me love. It still doesn't give him the right o hurt you and it wasn't your fault."_

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"I'm skipping class last class today. It's the first day, so a lot of people skip."_

_"Just go to class Klaus. I'm going out and I don't want company." _She said as she opened her door and sat down. She was about to close the door when his hand stopped the door.

_"How did the meeting with the professor go?"_

_"Fine. I gave him the papers back and walked out."_

_"Fine. Don't tell me. I'm sure Rebekah will let me know all the gory details when you tell her."_

_"Don't count on it. I'll tell her the same thing I just told you."_

_"May I join you?"_

_"Why? I just said I don't want company; especially with someone that pities me because they think I'm too weak to fight back or get away. I don't need your pity or sympathy or anything else. I just want to be left alone so I can deal with this on my own. Can you do that? We have classes together and your sister is my friend. That's as much as we need to have conversations, and you're supposed to be the one that doesn't like to be bothered with people."_

_"I'm guessing Rebekah gave you a little insight to our family's life?"_

_"A little. I'm sorry for what you and your family have been through, but I'm keeping out of it because it's not my business. Trust me; I tried to block out some of what Rebekah was saying, but it's a little difficult when trying to catch up."_

_"What did she tell you about my family?"_

_"She told me about your little brother. He died 2 weeks before my dad and one week before my birthday." _She said nervously. Then she took a breath and looked at him. _"Then she told me about what your ex did to you, your brother, and her sister. No one deserves to be done that way. She was looking at my schedule and pointing out the classes we shared when she told me, in case you're wondering. She thought I was just being nervous around you because of your 'behavior' but she didn't know that you knew about Tyler. You can see my reluctance at wanting a class with you, knowing as much as you do. So, I propose that you don't butt into my business and I will ignore yours as much as Rebekah lets me."_

_"Well if Rebekah has told you anything, it's that our family is pretty close love. Rebekah cares about you as much as she does family still, so I'm kind of obligated to help you."_

_"No, you're not. I'm not some weak little girl that's too afraid of him to say anything. I love him enough to not give up on him."_

_"Are you in love with him? You can love someone and help them, but not be with them. Sometimes it's better that way."_

_"I know that. I'm not leaving him. He would spiral and probably hurt someone else and it would be my fault. I can get him back where he was again, but other people have to stay out of it."_

_"And how long will he stay that way next time love?"_

_"I don't have time to talk about this. I have a job interview and I have to turn in several other applications if I don't get this job."_

_"Will you let me ride along? I won't bring up Tyler again, unless he repeats his actions."_

_"You can't go on an interview with me?"_

_"No, but I could find something to do while you're on it, and then tag along when you drop off other applications. Why are you trying to get a job anyway?"_

_"Because it's what I want to do. I don't want my mother paying for me to eat and shop while I'm here. I want to buy my own things. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself and going to school."_

_"I don't doubt that love."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?" _She asked and motioned for him to get in.

_"Can't tell you. I'm promised not to bring up a certain subject and it would violate that promise."_

_"Is it because I'm completely normal today? Well, minus hugs and the backpack." _She asked as she started the car and backed it out of her spot.

_"Yes."_

_"I was a cheerleader. I had to carry on if I fell or something. That and I was a tomboy when I was really little. Add in that I can be clumsy at times and I'm a walking accident waiting to happen. So, I'm used to pain. Now, let's change the subject. Rebekah said you're an art major. We have the same art class, so why don't you tell me what you plan to use art for?" _She explained before pulling out onto the roadway.

_"I draw and paint. I want to do that for a living and hopefully make some money from it."_

_"That sounds fun. I can draw clothes, but that's about it. I'm going to have some difficulty in that class."_

_"I can help you if you need it."_

_"I'm sure I'll be fine, but thanks for the offer." _She said as she pulled into a pet store parking lot.

_"Your interview is here?"_

_"Yep, so you can wait here until I get back. Just turn the key back and roll down the windows. You can listen to the radio if you like, but don't mess with my CDs. I have them in order and I don't want to have to sort them back out." _She said with a small smile and tossed her keys to him. Klaus chuckled and did as she instructed. However, curiosity got the best of him and he picked up the top cd and put it in. He heard a female singing a song he hadn't heard before, so he listened to it. He skipped through listening to the beginnings of each, so he didn't see when Caroline came back to the car. She opened the door and he looked up with a busted face.

_"Sorry love. There wasn't anything good on the radio and I only touched the top CD."_

_"It's fine. I like that CD, so I'll let it play."_

_"How did it go love?"_

_"They said they'd let me know, which translates into I didn't get the job. That's fine; it smelled bad in there." _She said with a laugh and pulled a folder out of the backseat. She pulled up her GPS system and sorted the applications by order along a route. She started humming quietly along with the song, but stopped herself quickly and getting a look on her face.

_"So, where to next love?"_

_"Everywhere in the folder." _She said as she handed him the folder. She didn't have many applications, but there were still a handful. He looked through the stack and noticed she had applied to a couple bars. He gave her a look and she shook her head. _"Don't look at me like that. It's for bartending/singing."_

_"Singing?"_

_"Yes. I like to sing, but I haven't in a while. I figured it might get me back into it."_

_"What made you stop?"_

_"I don't really like to sing in front of other people. I sang in front of everyone at the grill one night. It was for Matt. That's when we got together."_

_"Well if you get a job doing it, we'll all come hear you."_

_"I don't know if I'd do it or not. This is a little bit bigger of a town than back home. That means more people and I about threw up the night I sang at the grill."_

_"Pick a song."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Just pick a song on the CD and let me hear you."_

_"No."_

_"Why not love?"_

_"Because I don't feel like singing. That's another thing holding me back; if I don't feel like singing, I can't carry a tune."_

_"Fine, but one of us will get it out of you someday."_

_"Just ask Stefan about it when he comes tomorrow."_

_"He heard?"_

_"Yeah; he was there with Elena."_

_"The infamous Elena."_

_"Make fun all you want, but if you met her, you'd be like the rest of the guys from town."_

_"I doubt that love."_

_"Here." _She said as she pulled the visor down and pulled a picture out. _"She's the one in the middle." _Caroline pointed out as she pulled into the next parking lot and parked.

_"That's what has the guys in your town in a tither?"_

_"Hey! She's my friend."_

_"I can't believe you feel inferior to her."_

_"Well you can ask Stefan about what draws men in to her when he shows up. Remember what I told you guys? He went straight to Elena. Although, I'm glad he did because now we're like brother and sister. I couldn't imagine anything romantic with him now." _She finished with a laugh and got out of the car. There were multiple places to drop off an application in that shopping center, so Klaus got out of the car and walked with her. Klaus was actually having fun just chatting with her; he kept noticing her little mannerisms and would laugh with her. Then he remembered what his brother had said to him earlier; he realized Kol had been right. Caroline was easy for him to get along with and she hadn't tried to come on to him once. He admired her loyalty to Tyler; even if it put her in a dangerous spot. _"You know, you still have time to get to class is I took you back right now." _She suggested.

_"Are you not enjoying my company love?"_

_"You're actually not that bad as company, but you still need to go to class. I'm fine on my own; I won't get into trouble if you leave me unattended."_

_"I'm not babysitting you love. I just thought you'd want some company after everything."_

_"It's been fun, but I'm going to wait a couple days to turn in the rest. I need to go and see if the showers are empty so I can have a shower in peace."_

_"Good luck with that love."_

_"Well, if I could get a job, I'd just get an apartment or something. Don't worry; I'd take Rebekah with me. Then you guys could have the campus to yourselves." _She said with a laugh.

_"That's a good idea actually. Our family has the funds to get it started. We could all chip in on a house. Even your friend Stefan could tag along. We'd all split it evenly."_

_"There would still be a shower issue."_

_"Not if we got more than one bathroom. We'd all need at least 2 bathrooms. I'll make you a deal; I'll look up places and tell Kol about it, and you can talk about it to Stefan and Rebekah. You're getting a job anyway, and I'd say Stefan probably would from the sounds of him."_

_"His family has money, so he doesn't really need one. He might get one though. I'll call him after I talk to Rebekah. Kol and Bekah are probably getting out of class already. We got to get back; I've got to get a shower without your sister."_

_"Sure thing love. I'll talk to Kol and you talk to Bekah. How about we all meet at you girls' dorm at 8?"_

_"That sounds fine, but I don't have a job yet. I know you guys have money and Stefan has money, but I don't until I start working. I don't want to make a definite move, until I do."_

_"That's fine love. I've got to find a place that 5 people each have their own room and it's got to have at least 2 bathrooms."_

_"Good luck with that. We're in a college town, so if there is one, it's probably already taken."_

_"Since it's a college town, my family could buy and then rent it out when we graduate. It would work as a future investment."_

_"Well it still has to pass through 5 people, so I say we just hold off until everybody has a chance to discuss it."_

_"That's a smart move. Do you think your friend would do it?"_

_"Yes. He hates being in large crowds, so being out of the dorms is a positive for him. You sister won't be hard if I give her the face."_

_"What face?" _He asked. She looked around before turning to face him. She took a breath and gave her 'pretty pretty please' face. He looked at her a minute before giving a little chuckle.

_"That is definitely a face that would be hard to say no to." _He remarked and stopped laughing when he realized what he had said. She didn't seem to notice so he carried on. They continued chatting about small subjects until they had made it back to the campus. Klaus left to go find his brother and Caroline went to go talk to Rebekah. When Caroline got back to her room, Rebekah wasn't there. Caroline called Rebekah's phone, but it rang in the room. Caroline walked down to the shower and spotted her there, so she went back to her room. She decided start working on her homework while she was waiting on Rebekah to get out of the shower; she knew Rebekah would take a while in the shower washing and drying her hair.


	4. Chapter 4

**Making Plans and Surprises**

Rebekah thought the idea of everybody getting a place together was brilliant. She had been opposed to the idea when it was just her and her brothers, but adding Caroline and Stefan was just the trick to get her in on it. She was excited for her brothers to come over and everybody get started. Caroline decided to call Stefan and put it on speaker so she and Rebekah could both talk him into it if they had to.

_"Hey Care."_

_"Stefan. I know you're coming in tomorrow, but I needed to ask you something before you bring everything."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Well you remember me telling you that Rebekah was here?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well so are her brothers and we were all thinking about getting a place and splitting the bills. I'm getting a job and I'd like more privacy than what we have in the dorms, but we wanted to know if you were interested in joining us so we can all stick together. Are you?"_

_"I say hell yea. I don't know her brothers, but I'm sure we'll all get along fine. You and Bekah will be a blast; even if I end up not getting along with them."_

_"You'll get used to them. They grow on you. It's great that you agreed. I didn't want to leave you here or have to beg you. Anyway, we'll find a place over the next few days while I'm job hunting, so don't worry too much okay?"_

_"Sure thing Care. By the way, Matt said he needed to talk to you when you came back to town. He said it was something about Tyler, but he wouldn't tell me."_

_"I'm sure it's nothing Stefan. I'll see you tomorrow."_

_"See you tomorrow." _He said as the girls heard the line end. Rebekah started squealing and tackled Caroline to the bed in a squeezing hug. Caroline tried to play along with Rebekah through the pain, but she was glad when the door opened and the guys came through, which made Rebekah jump off Caroline quickly. Caroline took a breath and put a smile back on her face as she sat up.

_"Don't stop on our account sister." _Kol teased before adding more. _"I'm guessing our dear sister thought it was a good idea?"_

_"Yes, as well as Stefan. We just hung up with him." _Caroline answered as Rebekah was still jumping up and down in the floor.

_"Well we're all in luck because I found a place."_

_"I have to get a job guys. I can't just move in until I get one."_

_"Nonsense darling. We got you covered until you get a job. It won't be hard around here." _Kol interrupted what he could only presume was the beginning of a very long rant.

_"I can't just move in to a place and not help out."_

_"I stayed with you all the time when I was doing the exchange. It's only fair Care." _Rebekah said and gave her a face that was almost as pleading as the face Caroline had shown Klaus earlier.

_"Bekah, you know that face doesn't work on me."_

_"How about a deal?" _Klaus asked.

_"What kind of deal?"_

_"Well, since you're worried about your share of the bills, how about you cook the dinners and do the dishes until you get a job? That way, we can go ahead and get a place and free up these rooms for those who need them."_

_"That's perfect Care! Come on! Please?" _Rebekah insisted.

_"Bekah, it's still not enough. I would add in laundry, but I'd be afraid of everybody's clothes. I'll do mine and Bekah's clothes, and I'll pick up around the house if it needs it until I get a job. Afterwards, we'll designate who does what."_

_"YES!" _Rebekah hollered out in victory and Caroline rolled her eyes laughing at her. Kol raised up and hand and Caroline gave him a look before holding up a fist for a fist punch. Rebekah was excited and grabbed Caroline into another hug that Caroline returned and smiled through the pain again. She was going to have to come up with something to keep her friend from hugging her so much for a couple days. Klaus looked like he wanted to break them up and she gave a small shake to say don't. Kol didn't stop himself though.

_"Alright girls, just calm down. I'm going to be deaf before my time if you two keep it up."_

_"Shut up Kol." _Rebekah said with a small glare, but broke the hug. The girls both pulled out their laptops, and the guys showed them the listing for the house. Caroline copied the link to send it to Stefan telling him that they had found a house. Caroline then reviewed the listing and saw that it had 6 bedrooms and 3 ½ bathrooms; plus a finished basement and an attic. She wondered how they had gotten so lucky when she saw that it had been used as a bed and breakfast before. They each took their time reviewing the photos and determining what to use the basement for. The guys wanted an entertainment area and the girls wanted an exercise room. They ended up compromising and saying that it could be used for both, since the attic would be for storage. However, they would each have to get a bed to use and Rebekah pulled up a site and put an order in for 6 beds. They figured they might end up getting another roommate, but it could be a guestroom or something until then. Kol ended up getting a call and leaving to see a girl; everyone laughed at him. Caroline went to check the shower, but there were still girls in there, so she told them that it was full. Klaus snuck a look to her, and she gave him a small smile before gathering up her clothes and sitting them on the desk. She decided to go ahead and pack anything she didn't need back up and Rebekah stretched out to talk to Klaus and Caroline before he would leave and Caroline would get a shower. Klaus sent an email to the realtor who worked the house and gave on offer. He figured he would have to wait until morning to get word back, but his phone started ringing.

_"Hello?"_

_"Yes, I just received the alert for your email and I was wondering if now would be a good time to discuss it with you."_

_"Yes; give me just a minute." _He answered as he covered the phone and told Rebekah to call Kol back and Caroline to call Stefan back. _"Sorry about the wait. I was talking to two of the people that are going in with me on the house."_

_"How many people would be living there?"_

_"Well 5 for now. We all attend the college here and I thought it would give us all more privacy and room than the dorms, as well as be a good future investment."_

_"What do you plan to do with it after all of you graduate?"_

_"Rent it out to other college students or a family."_

_"That's a smart move. You said 5 people? How long have you all known each other?"_

_"Well 3 of us are siblings. My sister's friend she's known for a couple years and their friend for the same amount of time."_

_"So the chances of everyone dropping out of the house are slim?"_

_"Very slim. It's pretty hard to get a shower around here and we want to be able to make meals instead of spend a lot of money at the cafeteria or eating out."_

_"Will there be a lot of parties?"_

_"Not if I can help it. We're not really the party crowd. If we did have a party, it would probably be just us and our dates."_

_"How many of you have dates?"_

_"Just two of us for now I think. My brother doesn't usually bring girls home, and my sister's friend has a boyfriend that goes to another school; she doesn't see him often and she usually goes home to do that."_

_"Okay, so I shouldn't have to worry about damages or noise complaints while everything is being finished?"_

_"Correct."_

_"Well, we accept your offer. I'll draw the paperwork up in the morning and whoever's name is going on the deed will need to come down and sign for it."_

_"That would be my name and it's a pleasure. Does 3 sound good for you? I have morning classes and evening classes, so I have to come sometime in the middle."_

_"That will be fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Try and bring the other members with you so they can all get a look at the house."_

_"Well to do that, I'll have to look at everyone's schedule and find a time we're all out at the same time. It should still be around 3 though."_

_"That will be fine. I'll let you do the paperwork after you all look at the house."_

_"That sounds good to me, but I can already say we want it. We were looking at the pictures in the listing a few minutes ago. It needs some paint and minor work, but we'll have it fixed up before we move in."_

_"It's still procedure that you view the house before purchasing with us."_

_"That fine too. Thank you for the call and accepting our offer. We'll see you tomorrow." _He finished as he hung up. Rebekah finished up the call with Kol as Caroline finished up the call with Stefan and they all smiled at each other. _"We are buying a house tomorrow ladies."_

_"Technically you're buying a house tomorrow. We're all just moving in with you." _Caroline joked and everyone started laughing again. Caroline ran down the hall to check the shower and saw just one girl about to finish, so she ran back to get her stuff. _"Shower's free now, so I'll be back in a bit. Klaus, if you're gone when I come back then I will see you tomorrow. Rebekah, don't you dare go to sleep on me tonight."_

_"I'll be awake Care. I won't let Nik leave until you're back so he can keep me awake."_

_"Let him go and get some sleep. You can stay awake for ten minutes. I just got to wash my hair and dry it. I might just wrap it up in a towel tonight though. I still have work to do, so I'll be a while anyway."_

_"Fine, just hurry." _Rebekah said and Caroline ducked out into the hall. _"I don't care what she said; you're staying put Nik."_

_"I wasn't going to leave yet Bekah."_

_"Damn right you're not. What are you doing with Caroline?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"I saw you follow her out to her car through my classroom window."_

_"I skipped class and wanted to go off campus for a while. I saw her heading to the parking lot and thought she might let me tag along. She let me ride with her and she dropped off applications and did an interview. That's it."_

_"She has a boyfriend Nik. And even though I can't stand the guy, she is a faithful girlfriend, so don't be weaseling your way to her and doing anything to tempt her."_

_"I'm not Bekah. She's your friend and Kol and I thought we would be her friends too. Besides, I saw her boyfriend. I agree with you and I don't like him either, but I'm not weaseling my way to her. I'm just being a friend."_

_"Caroline has a bad habit of being a friend to guys and they want more. When they get more, they leave her broken hearted. Don't mess with her Nik. At this point, I'm more worried about you than I am Kol."_

_"Why are you worried about me? Kol chases any female that crosses his path."_

_"Because you guys are a lot alike and you seemed to have taken an interest in her. You haven't had that much of an interest in anybody since Tatia."_

_"Rebekah, she's your only friend here. I wouldn't do anything to sabotage that. I'm trying to treat her the same as I do you and Kol."_

_"I noticed, but she's not your sister. I'm willing to bet anything that you all end up getting together at some point. If that happens, don't you dare take away my friend time."_

_"I don't see that happening Bekah. Even if that was possible, I don't think anything would come between you two. Besides, Caroline made some bets earlier. She's betting that Stefan and I will be best friends and that you and him will get together."_

_"She said that?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Why would she bet that?"_

_"She said everybody had a crush on Stefan when he came to town. She said that you liked him when you came to town, but he was with Elena. She put 2 and 2 together. He's single and so are you. She's betting that me and him will be friends because we're guys and he's friendly with everybody apparently."_

_"He is a friendly guy. You'll like him. You and him have a lot of common interests too."_

_"We'll see. He can't be that bad if you both like him so much."_

_"Both? I think you do like Caroline."_

_"She's nice, smart, and beautiful, but I'm not an idiot. She has a boyfriend and there's too much in common. Think about it; you're her friend and my sister. She wouldn't ever go for it. I don't believe in relationships anymore anyway. Don't be making bets Bekah. I may have heard you talk about her a lot to get an idea of her, but I don't know her; I just officially met her yesterday too."_

_"I'm still placing that bet."_

_"Kol said the same thing earlier. I don't know what's with you two."_

_"What did he say?"_

_"We were talking about making her feel like family since she's your only friend here and he said that he believes I would fall for her."_

_"We're both right. You'll see in time I suppose. You know, when she starts working, she won't get to go home as much and that means she won't see Tyler as much. If his past behavior still has any impact, he won't go long enough without sex and he'll most likely cheat on her. He never went long without it before."_

_"I already told you I didn't like the guy. You telling me he's a bit of a man-whore isn't helping the guy much. You do realize that he might just show up at the house?"_

_"I know that. The guy just gives me a bad feeling with her. He seemed angry last night about something, but Caroline said he was just tired and it made him cranky."_

_"The guy's a douche Bekah. I saw her trying to help him get a hold of his friends last night. He doesn't respect her and I can say right now that he doesn't really care for her. Just don't say I told you that. She knows I saw them last night, and that's why she actually talked to me today. She was hoping I would keep quiet about it."_

_"What all did you hear?"_

_"Well apparently he wants her to keep covered up all the time because he doesn't like when other people can see her. He doesn't like when he doesn't get his way either; he tried to get her to screw him when there were people around everywhere, but she wouldn't do it. They got into a bit of a tiff about it. So you can see why I say he doesn't respect or care about her. Just don't say anything about it or she'll know I told you."_

_"I won't Nik, but is that why she wore long sleeves today? Does she think that by burning up alive in this heat that people won't see her?"_

_"No, I'd say she was cold in class. She has early classes and some of the rooms are chilly in the mornings."_

_"That's what she said. I don't believe her. I think she's trying to keep herself from being seen."_

_"Give her a couple days to come back out of her shell and you'll probably get her into t-shirts at least." _Klaus covered quickly. He knew his sister would be a challenge to keep everything from, but apparently Caroline underestimated his sister's perceptiveness. _"Anyway, did you place the order for the furniture? Kol said he would cover the entertainment if you got all the bed stuff."_

_"Yes and Stefan is bringing a couple couches and chairs with him so he can contribute. He also had his own bed, so that helps."_

_"Well according to the listing, we still need to get appliances. They aren't included with the house."_

_"Well we each have a mini fridge for our rooms, so that will help until we get a fridge for the kitchen. We also need to get a deep freezer and grill to set up on the porch somewhere."_

_"Well the house has an area for grilling and we could put the deep freezer in the shed since it's close to the house and we could lock it up at night."_

_"That works. Caroline said she would bring her desk back with her from home when she went to visit. Stefan is bringing his too, so that leaves us needing one each. The bedrooms are big enough to fit everything we need in them. Whatever we don't have room for, we can just put them in the attic."_

_"Another thing is that each room has its own temperature control. We each can have our rooms the degree we want them, but the living room and kitchen has to be set on something neutral, as well as the basement. We'll all talk later and decide on that."_

_"Yea. I wonder what is taking that girl so long. She said ten minutes and it's been longer."_

_"She may have decided to dry her hair or something."_

_"She left her hair dryer."_

_"Maybe she went to get some soda or something."_

_"We have some here. I'm going to go check on her."_

_"Bekah, she's a big girl; just give her some space."_

_"I'm just going to peep in and check."_

_"Why don't you just yell from the door?"_

_"Good idea. You come with me."_

_"Fine, but neither of us should step foot inside. Give her some privacy."_

_"We'll all be living in the same house soon. There won't be much privacy then."_

_"Exactly sister, so give her some while she still has it." _He finished as they approached the door. Rebekah opened it and hollered for her, but Caroline didn't answer. Klaus looked at his sister and nodded for her to go check. Rebekah went inside, but didn't see Caroline. She saw a shower head running and went to check the stall since there wasn't a towel on the door. She saw Caroline on the floor bleeding from her head and screamed.

_"Nik! Help me help her!" _She screamed and he came into the room. He looked around and told Rebekah to turn the shower off while he went to grab another towel. Rebekah checked Caroline out and found that she was breathing and had a pulse, but she and the towel were soaked, and her head was bleeding. Then Caroline noticed the bruises on her friend. She covered her mouth to keep from crying as she looked her over and saw them covering Caroline. She thought she was going to be sick and left the stall to heave at the sink. Klaus came back in and saw his sister crying and knew what she had seen. _"Did you know about her Nik?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Why didn't you tell me?" _She whispered and looked back to her friend before walking over to rest her knees on the ground next to her friend.

_"I saw it happen and she asked me to not say anything; especially to you. She knew you would say something or call the cops. She doesn't want this blown up. Think about it. Tyler is the mayor's son; he'd get away with it. And his mother is her mother's friend. We can help her, but we have to be smart about it. We just have to get her away from him, but she won't let us help her if we go to the cops."_

_"Why wouldn't she say anything?"_

_"She thinks she brought it on last night. She switched her birth control and he won't use a back-up. She didn't want to get pregnant." _He said, stopping himself from saying again. _"Let's try to wake her up, and if we can't we'll call 911."_

_"We should call it anyway. She looks like she hit her head in the fall. She could have a concussion or a fractured skull or something."_

_"You call. I'll try to wake her up. I won't move her or let her move herself. If she moved, you wouldn't be able to stop her with your muscles."_

_"Okay, I'll call. I'll step outside to call so I can keep anybody else out." _ Rebekah said as she tried to not panic. Klaus leaned over and started calling out her name. He made sure to cover her up with the towels and try to think of a cover story for the bruises on her back. Caroline opened her eyes, but Klaus stopped her from moving.

_"Don't move love. You might have something broken, so just don't move."_

_"I'm okay; I just fell."_

_"Bekah's calling an ambulance."_

_"No! They'll see…"_

_"I know. Rebekah already saw them. She promised she wouldn't go to the cops, but you need to think of a cover story and quick."_

_"I'll just say I fell on concrete doing flips because I didn't want to lose my moves from cheerleading."_

_"Good lie. What about the older bruises or the ones that show fingers?"_

_"I'll say it's where one of my friends thought I was hurt when I fell and was squeezing me."_

_"Okay, I'll tell Bekah the cover story, but this is the only time we're going to cover on this."_

_"I just slipped in the shower. I've done that a million times. I told you I was clumsy."_

_"No more clumsy moments for you love. Now, don't move. I'm going to tell Bekah the cover story and let her come in here with you since you don't have clothes on and this is the girls' shower room."_

_"Good idea."_

_"We'll be right behind you love."_

_"My keys are in the top of my purse. Use my car; it's still good on gas."_

_"Alright love. I'll see you there. Rebekah will bring your clothes and get an excuse for your classes tomorrow." _He said as he went to trade places with Rebekah and tell her the cover story. She didn't want to go along with it, but agreed that they needed to help her without anybody knowing before they went to the cops. When the paramedics arrived, Klaus held the door open for them. They put a brace on her and lifted her to the stretcher before covering her up so no one would see anything. Klaus ran and got her keys before they left and he and Rebekah followed them out. Rebekah cried the whole way to the hospital as she thought about how hard she had squeezed Caroline earlier that day and what her friend must have been going through for a while.

_"Is all of this why you've been around her since lunch?"_

_"Partly. I meant what I said about being her friend. Grab my phone and go to the pictures. She doesn't know I took a picture of her back earlier when I made her show me the damage. You only saw the top of her. There's more where the towel was covering."_

_"What? I'm going to kill him. I always hated him; and I knew something was wrong with him last night."_

_"Bekah, you don't know the half of it."_

_"Well you better start talking."_

_"I think she should tell you. She never meant for either of us to know. Kol noticed earlier and I had to shut him up."_

_"That's why he asked so many questions. He hid it with his flirting; that little…"_

_"Bekah calm down. If you let your emotions get into this, you won't be able to help her."_

_"And what about you? Don't tell me that she's just my friend so you're being nice or that you don't do relationships. You like her. You were interested when I came back and you saw pictures of her, but since you thought you'd never meet her, you didn't do anything about it. I think you like her now, but it isn't the right time; yet again. When this is all over, maybe something could happen, but don't you talk to me about my feelings until you know you don't have the same problem."_

_"I'm interested, but I know how to control my reactions. I wasn't planning on pursuing anything anyway though."_

_"They'll talk to me before they would you since I'm her roommate. I better call her mom and have her call the hospital and tell the doctor to let me give the information for her and receive the information. I hope her mother doesn't pull the chart for this one or she won't be able to hide this from her."_

_"I know Bekah. Go ahead and call because we're almost there." _He said as he tried to keep up with the ambulance. While Rebekah was calling Liz, she scrolled through the pictures on Klaus' phone until she saw the one of Caroline's back. She covered her moth and started crying, but shut the phone down and recovered in time to hear Liz pick up. She told Liz what happened in the shower and Liz picked up the house phone to give permission while Rebekah was still on the cell phone. When Liz hung up, she told Rebekah to call her back when she knew something and she agreed. When she hung up, they pulled into the parking lot and parked before running inside the emergency room doors. They waited until the paramedics rolled Caroline in, who was still awake, and followed her. Rebekah was allowed to go back with her, but Klaus had to wait in the waiting room until the initial diagnoses had been formed. Rebekah did well with the cover story, but the doctors exchanged a look that Rebekah noticed. The doctor questioned Rebekah about how he knew Caroline and she told the truth regarding him; including the whole exchange program. Then they wanted to know about boyfriends and possible suspects that would attack Caroline. Caroline got frustrated and yelled at the doctors that she had been doing flips because she had been a cheerleader, and that if they didn't believe her they could look at her transcript to see her cheerleading history. The doctor left Rebekah alone after that, and Rebekah never changed her face or looked away from Caroline.

In the waiting room, Klaus called Kol to let him know what was going on and Kol decided to come down and wait with him. Klaus paced the room until Kol arrived before taking a seat. They didn't talk about Tyler once, but they were both thinking about everything. When Rebekah came out, she was holding back tears. She typed a text message and sent it to both of them so they would know what was going on before saying she needed to go and call Caroline's mother. Kol and Klaus exchanged a look before pulling out their phones and reading the message Rebekah had sent them both.

**The dr. said that she has a slight concussion and she has to get a couple stitches in the cut on her head. Also, she has 3 cracked ribs, and some of her organs are bruised. The dr. told her to stay out of class for a few days. I agreed to gather her work for her to do in the dorm. They're setting her ribs in a wrap and stitching her up now. They have to wait on the concussion to pass before they give her anything for pain. She is refusing pain meds though. I don't know what to do in there and she's acting like she's not hurt. She hasn't broken a single tear out.**

Klaus and Kol looked up from the message and looked to each other before standing to go find Rebekah. They saw her still talking to Liz. She was covering the injuries with the fall, so Liz wouldn't suspect anything if she pulled the chart for review. When Rebekah hung up, she sat on the curb and cried before Klaus and Kol walked over to her.

_"Bekah, you have to go back in there. We aren't allowed until everything is done. She needs someone in there with her." _Kol said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Klaus sat down on the curb next to her and threw an arm around her shoulder.

_"We'd go with you if we could, but they don't want us in there."_

_"I saw the x-rays and the scan. One of her ribs could have shifted to her lung. I've gave her hugs all day. You two should have stopped me; I could have killed her with a bloody hug." _She ranted before standing a taking a breath and wiping her tears. _"I'm going back inside. I would say go back to school, but I don't think I can drive us back."_

_"We're staying, so don't pull that line." _Kol said.

_"The faster we get moved in together, the faster we can stop this crap from happening." _She finished before walking back inside. Klaus and Kol both followed her back to the waiting room and sat down. A couple hours later, they discharged Caroline and she refused to ride in the wheelchair to leave to hospital, so she grabbed her papers and walked out shuffling her feet. Rebekah walked right beside her; she had to steady her when she about tripped over her feet and when she had a dizzy spell. It was easier for her to get to the car once they reached the guys. She wouldn't look at anybody as they sat her down and she buckled up. Klaus drove her and Rebekah in Caroline's car and Kol drove his own back to campus. They all 4 decided to bunk in the girls' room that night to help her. When Caroline got inside, she took one look at the stairs and groaned. She was about halfway up the first flight when Klaus told her to stop and let one of them carry her. She glared, but he rolled his eyes and asked if she really wanted to endure that many more steps. She huffed before letting him pick her up. She bit her lip when she felt his arm press into her back. He apologized, but walked up quickly to lessen the time she would be in pain. He set her down at the top and she used the wall for support the rest of the way. No one said anything until they had made it back to the dorm room. Rebekah looked at her brothers before deciding to be the first to speak. _"Care, can I ask you something?"_

_"Not tonight Rebekah please. I just want to take some Tylenol and go to sleep."_

_"You should have let them give you something for the pain."_

_"Well I'm used to it; but you already learned that tonight. What do you want to know?"_

_"Why do you stay with him?"_

_"Because he wasn't always like that. I've got him back to himself before and I can do it again."_

_"I'm going to send the guys for something to eat because I'm about to get really personal with the questioning."_

_"Why bother? We'll all be living together soon and one already knows."_

_"How did this start?"_

_"I don't even hardly remember that. Wait; it was during practice. He was acting out again and he cussed the coach out. The coach suspended him from the next three games and I followed him off the field. When I caught up to him, he didn't want to talk. I kept pushing to get him to when he snapped. He didn't even realize what he'd done until after. He'd pushed me into a tree. That was the first time."_

_"What happened this time?"_

_"You saw how drunk he was. When he's drunk, he gets riled up. I switched my birth control, so I have to have a back-up for a couple of weeks. He won't use the back-up and I didn't want to risk getting pregnant again. It wasn't pretty the last time, and I don't want to go through that again. He reacted when I said I didn't want to."_

_"What do you mean again Caroline?"_

_"We got pregnant senior year. He said he didn't want a baby and told me to get an abortion. He didn't want his mom finding out he got me pregnant in high school. I don't believe in it and I was ready to face the responsibility because it was either that or adoption for me. I couldn't see doing abortion or adoption, so I said no. He reacted and it caused me to have a miscarriage."_

_"How far along were you?"_

_"About 11 weeks. It took weeks to recover, and forever to get back out on the field. I didn't want to chance that happening again. I'm in freaking college and I want to finish it. I want to make a career for myself. I don't want a baby if I can help it. If it happened, I would do what I was prepared to do then, but I don't want to take the chance."_

_"You think it's your fault?"_

_"I push him constantly. I never know what the limit is with him."_

_"Do you want out?"_

_"No. I want to help him get back to where he was. When we're good, it's perfect. This is just one of the bad times. It's been worse. He's getting better again, but you guys can't tell it because you haven't seen it at its worst."_

_"What's the worst?"_

_"When he pushed me down the stairs at his house and I miscarried. I broke a leg and an arm, and all of my ribs were cracked that night."_

_"So you think because you just have cracked ribs and you're bruised inside and outside that he's getting better? No, Caroline that's not what's happening. You said you're used to it; that's what's happening."_

_"I didn't want any of you to know, okay?"_

_"This is my problem, and I will deal with it my own way."_

_"Okay, I'm interrupting you girls for a minute because I have no personal say in this. I'm an outsider looking in and even I can see that it's hopeless to help this guy. Caroline, he basically killed the child inside of you and he nearly killed you in the process. I know you think you love him, and I'd say you do, but is he worth losing your life over?" _Kol interrupted an argued his point. Caroline looked at him a minute before saying anything back.

_"I can't give up. He'd only get worse or hurt someone else. I can't let that happen knowing I could somehow help him."_

_"You can't help him Caroline. That's something he needs to fix on his own."_

_"He won't; he'll just go further downhill again."_

_"Then you have to let him. He's not your responsibility. You're not his mother."_

_"His mother stood by and let his father hit him all his life. It's all he knew. Even after everything, Tyler still loved his dad. It hurt him when he died. Then Vicki died and that messed him up too."_

_"It's not an excuse. His mother should have stood up for him and stopped his father. This is her responsibility to fix. Whatever he does is on her for letting everything happen." _Kol argued and Caroline shook her head. She stood up and grabbed a disc from her movie shelf before sticking it in the DVD player and turning on the TV.

_"Just watch. I see this and all the other good things and I can't just walk away." _She said as she hit play. They watched as they saw a home video of everybody at the lake. They could tell that Stefan shot the video as he walked around talking to everybody. During all the interviews, they could all see her and Tyler in the background laughing as they chased each other around. Every time he caught her, he would pick her up and spin her around before putting her down and kissing her. Caroline sat down and smiled as she relieved the day in her head as she watched them on the TV. When it came time for their interview, both of them were slapping towards the camera and smiling through a kiss before they both broke the kiss and turned towards Stefan. They listened as Caroline, Tyler, and Stefan was talking.

_"So, since they've finally unlocked their lips from each other for air, I'm going to talk to them. Since we'll all be somewhere new in a few years, why don't we spend a little time in the now?" _Stefan said and they could hear him laugh.

_"In the now, we have each other and all of us are really close" _Caroline started. _"We're young and the world is ours for the taking."_

_"And I want to have the world with my girl here. She'll never know how much I really love her." _Tyler had said and had pulled her in for another kiss.

_"Watch it Lockwood. With talk like that, you might just make her your Mrs. one day."_

_"I just might, but we have a long road ahead of us and we're going to enjoy each day together as we go on from this place and make our futures." _He finished and Caroline had smiled brightly at him. Their interview finished with him picking her up and running off the pier and into the lake. They had both come up and reached for each other as everyone started running towards the water too. The video played on as Stefan had placed the camera to record them all swimming and having couple wrestling in the water. Caroline didn't take her eyes off the screen as everything stopped. She sniffled a little and wiped at her eyes before taking the disc out and putting it back up.

_"If he leaves, then he leaves, but I won't give up on him when I know that somewhere inside of him is the guy in that video." _Caroline explained as she turned back to the siblings. Rebekah came to sit beside her as she stretched out. The beds were barely big enough to hold them both, but nobody wanted to leave the room. Kol left to go get his air mattress from his dorm so the guys could camp out in the floor and the girls could have their own beds. Rebekah made her way back over to her bed, when Kol had left and Klaus sat down next to Caroline and noticed she was sweating.

_"You know you don't have to sweat around us. We've already seen, so if you're hot, you can change. I'll go outside and keep Kol out there until you're changed if you want."_

_"You all might know and have seen, but that won't keep you all from looking. I don't want stared at." _She explained, but he gave her a smirk before speaking quietly to her so Rebekah wouldn't hear.

_"Anyone would stare at you, and not because of those. They'd stare because of you and they wouldn't be able to help themselves."_

_"I don't know if you or Kol can be worse when complimenting, but thanks." _She replied before shooing him from the room. Rebekah came over to help her pull her clothes off so she could change into a tank top and pajama shorts. Caroline felt a lot better with the cool air able to reach her, and went to lie back down. Rebekah let Klaus back into the room. He saw her before she covered up and looked away. Rebekah gave him a knowing look and he rolled his eyes. He stood by the door until Kol came back and then he helped set the mattress up. Kol got into Rebekah's closet and got the extra bed stuff out and then the guys set up the bed and laid down. Klaus had taken the side next to Caroline's bed and Kol had smirked at him before taking the other side next to their sister. After taking some Tylenol and maneuvering around to get comfortable, Caroline finally dozed off. Rebekah followed soon after, but the guys were restless. They whispered back and forth most of the night before they dozed off as well.

The next morning Caroline woke up last. She was finally woken up by Rebekah handing her a ringing phone and she soon realized it was hers. She saw it was Stefan and told everyone to not tell him before handing the phone to Rebekah to answer for her. Caroline covered her head up tried to go back to sleep, but she heard Rebekah giving directions upstairs and she shot out of bed and pushed the guys into the hall so she could change. She threw on her long sleeve pajama top and pants before letting the guys back in and laying back down. She knew Stefan would be in there soon, so she made sure her hair covered her upper back and she was resting like the dr. had told her to do. When Stefan showed up, he had two sets of flowers. He handed the pink set to Rebekah and gave Caroline the yellow.

_"Care, with your klutziness, why didn't you take a shower with Rebekah? She could have at least got you help faster. You might not have fallen at all." _He said as he pulled her hair back to look at the stitches. She gave him a soft smile before holding her arm up to signal she wanted a hug. He rested his hand on her arm, afraid to really hug her bag with her ribs cracked. Rebekah had explained the fall to him earlier when he had called.

_"I missed you."_

_"You saw me a few days ago."_

_"But you're my big brother Stef."_

_"I know little sis and sober sponsor. If you all want to know what I'm talking about; Caroline helped me stay sober when Elena left me for my brother."_

_"Happens to the best of us mate." _Klaus chimed in. He knew from experience what women and brothers could do. He didn't blame his brother, but he still wished Tatia had cheated on him with someone else.

_"You too?"_

_"Yes, but my ex cheated on me with mine. And what's worse is that he was dating her twin sister at the time. They're engaged now and we haven't heard from my ex since we made her leave."_

_"I don't feel so bad now. My ex hooked up with my brother the day after we broke up, but she had feelings for him the last few months of our relationship. Caroline would steal my drinks every time I went to the bar, and to keep her sober, I had to stay sober. She's downright mean when she wants to be, but she helps everybody like that."_

_"Rebekah and Caroline have been telling us quite a few tales about the days they were in school together. I believe you called them the doublemint twins?"_

_"Yeah; I remembered that when she told me Rebekah was here. Rebekah, why don't you come over here? I haven't seen you in forever and I want to catch up. How have you been since I saw you."_

_"Mostly good. We've had a few problems, but we all got through it."_

_"That's good. How are you enjoying college in America?"_

_"It's different than high school. I guess Caroline forgot to mention we're citizens here now?"_

_"Really? So, you won't be moving away again?"_

_"Nope. You're stuck with the doublemint twins."_

_"That is actually awesome. I could use some fun in my life. You guys were always fun together."_

_"You ganged up with your brother against us."_

_"But it was still fun. Besides, you got us good. Do you two still have the video?"_

_"It and its copies are in secret places. You'll never find them all." _Caroline interrupted and gave Stefan and evil smile.

_"Care, you know you scare me sometimes right? Hell, the two of you together means I'm in trouble if I don't join you two." _Stefan joked as he moved Caroline's hair away from her stitches before standing and walking towards them men. _"Hey guys, it's nice to meet you. You two must be Rebekah's brothers?"_

_"I'm Kol and this is Nik, but he'll probably tell you to call him Klaus like he does everybody." _Kol said as he held out his hand and pointed to Klaus.

_"Klaus is fine. The only ones that call me Nik are Kol and Bekah." _Klaus explained and held out his hand. Stefan seemed fine so far, but he wasn't sure about the flowers he gave the girls.

_"Mind I ask what your actual name is? I'm a little confused with it."_

_"Niklaus. I don't like it so I shortened it. Kol and Bekah had a hard time learning my full name when they were learning to talk and called me Nik. Apparently it stuck with them." _He explained and chucjled at Rebekah's fuming face.

_"So what's on the agenda for today?"_

_"Well you can sit with Care while we all have classes, but we're supposed to look at the house today. Caroline refuses to stay home for that, so when we get back, one of us will give you a tour when another one can sit with her." _Rebekah answered and walked up to Stefan.

_"I'm not a freaking invalid Bekah, and I can hear you."_

_"Care the doctor gave you specific orders to be off your feet for a few days; as in 3 or 4. You're excused from classes all this week as well. Now, we'll all gather your homework so you don't plot against us in our sleep, but you aren't leaving that bed unless you have to go to the bathroom and to see the house."_

_"Bekah, if you weren't my friend, I would have plotted against you already." _She replied with a mischievous grin as she fantasized about payback for making her stay in bed. _"Seriously, I've had worse falls and I can get around just fine."_

_"You're still staying in that bed Care. I don't go against for much, but I will go against you on this." _Stefan interrupted her rant and crossed his arms.

_"Stefan, when have you ever won when you've gone against me?"_

_"Never, but this time I will. I have back-up this time. There's 4 of us and 1 of you."_

_"That's all I need Stefan. Have you forgotten prom?"_

_"What happened at prom?" _Rebekah asked.

_"She organized the whole thing by herself and 3 other schools' proms." _Stefan answered.

_"And they all went perfectly." _Caroline added with narrowed eyes and crossed her arms.

_"Bloody hell. You want us to help you go against her? I don't know much about organizing events, but I know our prom had like 10 people working on it and it was a disaster." _Kol said as he backed away, giving Caroline his best innocent smile. She chuckled evilly before saying anything to that.

_"You have no idea what I can do when I set my mind to it." _She said and Klaus dropped his eyes to the floor before giving Kol a look. Rebekah looked at Stefan before looking to Klaus. She hoped they would clear the mess up with Tyler before it got worse or Stefan found out about it. She knew that Stefan wouldn't be held back.

_"She won't hurt us. She's our friend and you're Bekah's brothers and maybe even friends by now. However, she is definitely plotting something in that head of hers that is either highly embarrassing or brilliant." _Stefan said with a laugh as he saw the guys' faces.

_"Or both." _ Caroline added with a shrug.

_"Okay. We have to meet the realtor around 3 at the house. She's bringing the paperwork with her. If we want it, I'll go with her and do all the paperwork at her office. The rest of you can come back here and do whatever until I get back."_

_"I'm not going to class today Nik. I have a one day excuse since I'm her roommate and she's on bed rest." _Rebekah pointed out quickly.

_"I guess I'm with the girls." _Stefan added.

_"I only have one class until after the meeting. Stefan, I can give you a tour before class if you want one." _Kol spoke, wanting Stefan far from his twin sister and those flowers.

_"Well I've already been to classes today. I have one more after the meeting, but it's not until about 7. I'll be here until the meeting." _Klaus added as a warning to Stefan and comfort for Kol.

_"I could use a tour." _Stefan said earnestly with a smile. Klaus and Kol both relaxed a bit with that. Rebekah wanted to spend some more time with Stefan since she hadn't seen him in years and looked to Caroline.

_"Care, will you let Nik stay with you so I can go with them? I'll walk him back when Kol goes to class. I really want to catch up with him." _Rebekah begged and gave a face.

_"Sure Bekah." _Caroline said defeated as she looked up at the ceiling. She knew she wasn't going to get out of having a babysitter, but could still try. Rebekah jumped up after saying a quick thanks and went to put on her shoes. Kol looked to the ceiling before looking to his brother. Klaus gave a shrug and went to sit on Rebekah's bed. Stefan went over to Caroline to tell her to call Matt while they were gone. She gave him a look before nodding. When Kol, Rebekah, and Stefan left, Caroline huffed before turning to Klaus. _"You know you don't have to stay here. I'm really fine."_

_"You know you're not getting out of this, so just stop trying."_

_"You guys are so stubborn."_

_"No more than you. I thought Stefan told you to call Matt?"_

_"Yes, but it's about Tyler and I don't think anybody could restrain themselves from speaking if they heard him talking about him."_

_"I'll behave love. You can even put it on speaker and I wouldn't say a word." _Klaus said as he gave her a look that said he was being sincere. She half smiled and reached for her phone. She pulled up the contacts before hitting the call button on Matt's number and putting it on speaker. Klaus was surprised that she had put it on speaker, but didn't say anything.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey Matty. Stefan told me to call you."_

_"Oh. I really think I should wait until you come back on a visit to tell you anything."_

_"Matt, what's going on?"_

_"I'm not going to say until you come back."_

_"Matt, I spent hours in the hospital last night and I have the headache from hell. If you don't tell me what is going on, I'll be on my way back home before you can blink again." _She swore as she glared at the phone.

_"Okay well I'll tell you what I saw and you can take it how you need to. But, I first got to explain why I was even there."_

_"Okay, keep going."_

_"Well, you know how April and I have been together for a while?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well, I'm getting ready to propose in a couple months…"_

_"What?! Aww. How are you going to ask?"_

_"That's not what's important right now Care. You'll see when I propose like everyone else. It'll be public and over all of you all's Christmas break."_

_"Okay, just tell me."_

_"Well, I wanted help shopping for a ring."_

_"Okay, that's normal. Where's this going?"_

_"I went to get help from Tyler, but he took a while answering his door. He wouldn't answer his phone, so I just showed up."_

_"Okay. Still; where's this going?"_

_"Care I don't want to say anymore."_

_"Matthew Donovan, I can see my car keys."_

_"When he finally answered the door, he had a girl in there."_

_"It could be a million different things Matt."_

_"She was wearing his shirt. I recognized it."_

_"Still could be a million different things Matt."_

_"I'm pretty sure it was just one thing Care."_

_"Matt, if something was going on behind my back, I'd want Tyler to tell me himself. When did this happen?"_

_"The day after you started classes."_

_"I just saw him the day I started classes. He came to a party here with me."_

_"I know that. He told me he was there and that you guys got into an argument."_

_"We did, but we didn't break up Matt! I'll be home next weekend Matt. I'll talk to you about all this then. Did you happen to get the girl's name?"_

_"Yea he said her name was Hayley and that she was just an old friend that he saw again in college."_

_"Old friend? From where? He's lived in Mystic Falls his whole life like the rest of us."_

_"Yeah, but you know he used to spend a lot of time with his uncle Mason down in Tennessee and Florida."_

_"Yeah. How does that have anything to do with this?"_

_"She's lived in Tennessee since she was a kid. They could have met there. Listen, I saw what I saw. I told you that you could take it how you wanted it, but I don't want you to continue with him if he's going to hurt you. You're both my friends, but maybe you guys should take a break or something while you're in college."_

_"I'll see you next weekend Matt. Thanks for telling me, but I got to lay down. My head is throbbing."_

_"Why were you in the hospital?"_

_"I slipped in the shower and hit my head. I got stitches this time, a concussion, and 3 cracked ribs."_

_"Will you please stop falling down? One of these days, you won't be lucky and I really don't want to see you buried before me."_

_"Come on Matt; you know it's not up to us when we go. Besides, who would tease you and April when we all got old if I wasn't around?" _She asked with a small smile and bit her lip.

_You better be or I'll bring you back and lock you in a padded cell so you can't get hurt."_

_"Ah the joys of the asylum. I should fit in nicely there. Thanks Matt. But, I got to go. I've got a babysitter right now, so I don't want to be rude. I'll see you next weekend and approve of that ring for April. Congratulations Matty."_

_"Thanks Care. I'll see you next weekend." _He finished and Caroline heard the line end. She shook her head before tossing the phone to the end of the bed and lying down, pulling the cover over her face as she did.

_"Don't say a word." _Caroline grumbled and peeked out from under the covers at Klaus.

_"I wasn't going to love. I think you heard enough on that call, but I hope you use the opportunity to let him go."_

_"I want to hear him say it to my face before I believe it."_

_"That's okay, but don't go anywhere alone with him. Asking him might set him off and you don't want to be alone if that happens."_

_"I'm not going to bring something like that up in front of anybody."_

_"You've got nearly two weeks to heal and think about it. Just focus on getting better. You didn't see Rebekah when she found you, or on the way to the hospital. It brought up a lot of memories for us."_

_"Your brother?"_

_"Yeah. I made sure Rebekah didn't move you in case you had cracked your skull or broken your… neck."_

_"I didn't mean to scare you guys. I got the towel around me and went to turn the shower off when I stepped on someone's soap. I hadn't even seen it during the shower."_

_"We didn't know what happened; whether it was from Tyler's actions towards you the night before or an accident. Why won't you let Stefan know?"_

_"Because I wouldn't be able to stop him from going after Tyler. Stefan's like a big brother to me. Would you stop if someone did that to Bekah?"_

_"No."_

_"Well now you see my point."_

_"He should still know. As a brother, I would want to know. Why did Stefan bring Rebekah flowers?"_

_"I don't know. I got them because Bekah told him about me falling. Either he wanted her to have them or he got them so she wouldn't be left out. But, I got yellow for sympathy; she got pink. Pink stands for affection."_

_"Is Stefan aware of flower color meanings?"_

_"Yes; I taught him when he was dating Elena."_

_"Can I trust him around my only sister?"_

_"Yes. He wouldn't ever hurt her. He pulled pranks when we were in school together, but we never really got hurt; just embarrassed. He's a really nice guy. I think they would be good together after they catch up and everything."_

_"He seems alright love. I'm just asking for reference."_

_"He's definitely a good guy. When Stefan loves someone, he loves them selflessly and completely. He would do anything for that person. Elena never understood what she threw away when she left him. However, he's picked himself up and he's ready to move on. You know, he used to joke about how he missed me and Bekah teaming up. I think he liked her then, but he was with Elena and he doesn't venture when he's with someone."_

_"That's good to know."_

_"Yeah." _Caroline replied as she moved to sit back up. She looked around the room before catching Klaus off in thought. She slowly crept to the edge of the bed and went to stand.

_"And what do you think you're doing love?"_

_"I can't stay in bed all day. I hate being confined to a bed. I heal faster when I move. Plus, I'm hungry." _She said as she moved to her closet to pull out an outfit. Klaus came up behind her and gently grabbed her hands to stop her. She tensed up a little bit before turning around to face him. _"Please let me out of this room. I'll literally drive everyone crazy. Plus I want my coffee."_

_"I already got your coffee and Stefan brought food on his way in. You can only walk to the bathroom and back if you want out. And trust me; you won't sneak out that way. I'll follow you to the door and back if I have to love." _He said as he raised his eyebrows and pursed his lips in thought. _"it might be easier on both of us if you just stay here until you actually have to use the bathroom."_

_"How do you know you got the right coffee?"_

_"I described it to the woman and she mentioned a blonde that had ordered it. See, she doesn't remember every student, but you have a unique way of making your cup. She remembered it and made it for me."_

_"You're good. That was one of my moves."_

_"What can I say love? You made an impression." _He said as he held out his arm towards the bed and looked at her innocently before giving her his own version of puppy dog eyes.

_"Uh, you gave me a face. What's worse is that it's very good. Not completely working, but still good."_

_"Would you please go back to bed and let me bring you your coffee and food?" _He asked innocently.

_"Okay, you win this round. But, you just declared war my friend." _Caroline said as stomped back to the bed and pointed her finger at him as she finished. He gave her a real smile before bringing her the coffee and sandwich, and then he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

_"Game on love." _He whispered before walking backwards back to Rebekah's bed and sitting down again.

_"What's the objective in this war?"_

_"I'm just in it for fun."_

_"Bull; do you just not like to lose against girls or something?"_

_"Nope. I like a challenge and you appear to like them as well. We'll see how good the pranks will go when you get better. Until then we just plot our strategies."_

_"Fine and no using other people to help. It isn't fun if you don't plot by yourself. I'd say eventually, everyone will catch on, so I say we warn them ahead of time to stay out of it."_

_"Sounds good to me love. I'll send out the text to Rebekah and she can warn the guys."_

_"I'll just call her." _Caroline said as she pulled out her phone and called Rebekah. When Caroline told her, Klaus could hear his sister in the background calling him an idiot, Stefan laughing, and Kol asking what it meant. After Rebekah explained to Kol what everything meant, he was laughing with Stefan. Stefan took the phone and warned him that he didn't know what he had started before giving the phone back to Rebekah. They said their goodbyes and hung up. _"Now they're warned. Should any of them try and help, we have to call a momentary cease fire and gang up against that person for a prank. Once successful, we go back to war."_

_"Sounds fair love." _He said as he pulled out his flask and took a sip before handing it to her. She took a sip before handing it back. He put it up and she looked at him curiously. _"I do still have to drive later love. I'll drink the rest when I am in my own room and bed."_

_"Rebekah's covers not suiting you?"_

_"I don't really think pink is my color love."_

_"I don't care for it much either, but Bekah likes it."_

_"What is your favorite color?"_

_"Depends on my mood I guess; most days it lavender or yellow. What's yours?"_

_"Blue."_

_"I like blue. There are a couple shades of blue I don't like, but there are some that beat yellow and lavender some days."_

_"I like light blue and really dark blue; almost black."_

_"I think the only color I don't much care for is pink."_

_"Too bad it's my sister's favorite color."_

_"I know, but it's her choice."_

_"You smile through anything don't you?"_

_"Almost anything. I try to stay in a good mood as much as I can. It's harder than it used to be; it used to be like breathing." _She finished as Stefan and Rebekah both came back into the room laughing. She gave him a small smile before turning to the duo at the door. They all had a lot to do that day, so Caroline took a breath and prepared herself for it.


	5. Chapter 5

**House Tour**

Everyone except Kol rode in Caroline's car as they made their way to the house for the viewing. Kol drove behind in his car, and told Klaus he would ride back in Caroline's car when the viewing was over. When the two cars pulled up outside the house, they saw the realtor's car parked in one of the old parking spots that the bed and breakfast had offered and decided to park next to it. Caroline had brought a notepad and pen with her to be able to list everything they would have to do to the house. They weren't even inside when she had outside paint, a new mailbox, and extra keys wrote down. Rebekah walked with Caroline since she was writing and walking at the same time, and they had agreed that she wouldn't walk alone. The realtor noticed that she had stitches and looked wary towards the men before asking her about it. She told her how she fell in the school shower and that it was definitely a big motivator for them to move. The realtor nodded and then led them inside. As Caroline was made her way inside, she noticed a couple porch swings that needed fixed and wrote that down too.

Once inside, everyone looked around separately except the girls. The men wanted to check out the basement and the women wanted to check upstairs. They all agreed and split up; Rebekah went on upstairs and let Caroline stay in the kitchen writing as Rebekah hollered down the changes that would have to be done. Klaus heard what was going on and jogged upstairs to join Caroline in the kitchen. He told her that they only needed to paint the walls and shampoo the carpet in the basement. She nodded and wrote it all down. Then he walked with her into the living room area and noted that it only needed paint. The kitchen definitely needed more work since it needed paint, and the cabinets needed fixing; most were coming off their hinges and all of them needed painted. Caroline got frustrated with writing down paint so often, so she noted that every room needed it. Klaus laughed as he saw her copy over paint to make it bold, but he stopped when she gave him a glare. The realtor stepped into the room and talked to Caroline for a minute since she had been the one writing everything down before leading her out the back door. Klaus followed them outside and saw that it was a generous size yard that included a shed and had a small empty pool that wasn't listed on the listing. Caroline asked the realtor if she knew what it would take to fix it, but the realtor was unsure. Caroline made the note to call a repair guy for it and moved to go back inside since the outside mostly just needed basic tending.

Caroline was curious about the bedrooms and walked into the three downstairs and the two bathrooms down there. She took mental notes for the occupants since they mainly needed paint, but one of the bathrooms needed a new toilet, so she wrote that down. Then she walked over to the stair and grabbed the banister, to make her way up without help. She walked upstairs and looked at the other three bedrooms and the bathroom. Rebekah was still up there so they talked about the guys taking the rooms downstairs and them taking two of the ones upstairs and sharing the bathroom. They agreed it would be the easiest solution and they walked down together to meet them in the kitchen. Caroline wanted to check out the basement, but she didn't want to walk any more stairs, so she threw her notepad down on the kitchen island so everyone could look over it. The girls gave their bedroom idea and the guys agreed with them before they all agreed that they wanted the house. The realtor looked at the group's excitement and pulled out the papers for Klaus to sign. He signed and everybody cheered as the realtor say that once everything was filed, the house was theirs. They all walked out, and the realtor locked the door before giving the set of keys to Klaus and telling him to follow her. He told the group goodbye and they all left where they needed to go. Stefan said that since he wasn't starting his classes for a week, he would be the run to run to the stores and pick up paint samples and do the minor repairs at the house. He pulled out his phone and looked up the number for someone who could look at the pool for them. They made the appointment for him to swing by the house and take a look and Stefan agreed he would meet him there.

When they got back to the dorms, Caroline pulled out her laptop and her notepad. She made a list of their names and started pulling up paint samples online. They had all agreed to paint the guestroom white until someone moved into it. Caroline quickly pulled up a lavender color and wrote down the paint id number. She had Rebekah come over and decide which shade of pink she wanted, before Caroline wrote down the id number for it. Stefan and Kol took their turns after the girls, with Kol picking out a grayish color and Stefan choosing a dark green. Caroline bookmarked the site before moving on to an appliance store. They had all agreed to stainless steel appliances, so she bookmarked the website for it. They couldn't do much without Klaus being with them, but Rebekah went ahead and ordered the appliances since she had already talked to Klaus about it all.

Klaus didn't take long at the realtor's office before returning back to the group. He saw them all at work organizing what needed to be done before tossing them each a key to the house with a smile. Caroline had been sketching what she wanted her room to look like after it was painted and her stuff moved in. She wasn't doing bad, but she was frustrated that she wasn't drawing clothes. Klaus noticed what she was doing and asked for a spare notebook and pencil. Rebekah got them for him and he started drawing what everyone wanted. Caroline took over drawing Rebekah's room as she rattled off what she wanted done. Caroline made note to what the colors in the room would include before they all finished. She pulled the paint site back up and had Klaus pick out his color so she could write it down with the others. Klaus was surprised that they had done so much in a little amount of time, but remembered that Caroline thrived on stuff like that. Eventually he had to leave to his evening class and the group stayed with Caroline until they needed to eat. They all agreed to pizza and ordered a few before sitting down to watch a movie and do homework.

**Repairs and Moving In**

It took all week for Stefan to paint and all of the furniture and appliances to get delivered and set up. The pool guy fixed the pool, since it only needed a little updating and helped them clean it up before showing them how to make it fill up. They were all excited to have a little pool to cool off in, but Caroline knew she had a couple more days before she could wear a bathing suit in front of everybody. They all used Stefan's moving truck to move their stuff from the dorms to the house, and all stopped by the office to note the change. Caroline spent that week going to different interviews, but they didn't turn up much luck. When they all got everything moved in and set up, they all decided to celebrate; Klaus went and picked up a bottle of champagne, and Kol went to stock up on liquor and beer for the bar in the basement. Caroline took pictures of the kitchen, living room, her room, the front of the house, and the backyard to send to her mom. Her mom ended up calling her since she wasn't on shift yet.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey sweetie; I got the pictures. I'm glad you decided to move in with everybody. I feel better knowing you won't have any more accidents at that school."_

_"Yeah; I wish you could come see the place. Everything is amazing. I'm finally back in classes, but I've still not had any luck finding a job."_

_"You'll get one sweetie. Is Bekah or Stefan anywhere around you? I want to say hi to them to."_

_"Everyone is here. We're celebrating the move; I'll just put you on speaker and you can say hi." _He said as she went back to everyone and told them her mom wanted to talk to them before putting the phone on speaker and setting t on the kitchen island. _"Okay mom; you're on speaker and everybody's listening."_

_"Hello everyone. I just wanted to say congratulations on finding a place so fast and easy. Now, I may only be the official parent to one of the occupants, but I will still be motherly towards the rest as Stefan and Rebekah know. I don't want you all partying all the time and you will still do your homework and go to classes. This is an amazing opportunity for everyone, so take advantage of it. If any of you need anything, just have Caroline give me a call or you can call me yourselves. Rebekah, I'm glad you and Caroline could find each other again; we never stopped missing you around the house. Stefan, I know you like to watch out for Caroline like a brother. I appreciate it and you know I claim you as the son I didn't have; so ward off any boys that come her way."_

_"Mother! I'm still with Tyler." _Caroline interrupted, embarrassed.

_"I know sweetie, but you're in college now and he's in a different one. You two may grow apart, but it's okay if that happens. Now, I expect to see everyone coming next weekend. I'll set up the guestroom and couch for the boys and Rebekah can stay in Caroline's room like the old days. I have a full weekend off for you guys, so you all WILL come here." _Liz finished with a firm tone.

_"Sleepover!" _Rebekah cheered.

_"You know I won't pass up on mom time Liz. I'll see you then." _Stefan chimed in after Rebekah and looked to the guys.

_"You know I won't pass up seeing a beauty such as yourself my dear Liz." _Kol said as everyone shouted at him. Everyone could hear Liz laughing before she answered.

_"Oh my dear Kol; you wouldn't have been able to handle me if you met me when I was younger. I'd say Caroline has already made you stop with the flirting, but she gets her attitude from me."_

_"Mom; come on! I don't want to hear you talking about your prime days again. You and Dad used to make me flee the house." _Caroline said with a gagging sound and her nose scrunched up before giving off full body shivers.

_"Oh sweetie; when you get my age, you will be able to banter with so much more ammo than you do now."_

_"Mom, I'm not reliving your glory days. I love you, but no."_

_"Alright sweetie. And don't think I forgot that there's one more person in that room that hasn't said anything about coming with you guys." _Liz said in a once again firm tone.

_"Sorry Mrs. Forbes. I probably should have spoken before Kol started flirting. I'll be there; I want to see the place my sister fell in love with when she came."_

_"Now, it's a small town, but it never slowed anyone down. There are plenty of things to do around here when you visit. When you guys first show up, I'm treating everyone to dinner at the grill, so don't anybody argue with me about it."_

_"We won't mom. I'll see you next weekend. I love you and say hi to everyone for me."_

_"I will sweetie. You guys need to take lots of pictures so you can show me everything in the new house. I love you sweetie." _She heard before the line ended and she looked up at everyone.

_"Am I the only one that would challenge my mother?"_

_"Most definitely Care. You take after her, with your father mixed in there. With that much fire and stubbornness, nobody is going to win a challenge with you. Klaus, I'm sorry, but we're all betting on Caroline in this war you guys declared." _Stefan answered before speaking to Klaus.

_"We'll see mate. The trick is to not give up."_

_"You have no idea how far her mischievous can go man. I wish you luck because you're going to need it. Care, don't make him cry like the last one."_

_"I'll try not to, but I can't make any guarantees." _She played back before going to the fridge and pulling everyone out a beer. Kol fist pumped the air before looking for a bottle opener. She placed them on the counter and Kol popped the tops off of them. Caroline gathered up the tops and put them in her pocket before everyone gathered their beers and cheered again. They all decided to grill out and eat outside that evening since they were celebrating, so the men took over the grill and the women made the side dishes in the kitchen. When they were done, Caroline had Rebekah use some waterproof concealer on her bruises so she could wear her bathing suit with her. They put shorts over the bottoms and took everything outside. The men nearly fell over each other when they saw the girls, but decided to take turns going to change into their swim trunks. When everyone was changed and the food done, they all sat at the patio table and ate. They didn't have to worry about the swimming rule since the water wasn't deep and the pool wasn't that big, so they all cleaned up and got into the pool. The girls sat on the pool steps while the guys decided to play a moderated version of beer pong in the pool. When they were done playing, Kol decided to go to the basement and went inside to change. When he left, the girls stood up and decided they wanted girl time, so they left Klaus and Stefan outside. Klaus and Stefan got out of the pool and sat in the lounge chairs drinking beer.

_"Do you like my sister?" _Klaus asked out of the blue.

_"She's a good friend, so of course I like your sister."_

_"I meant as more than a friend."_

_"She's out of my league Klaus. Don't worry man; I won't make a move on her."_

_"It's alright if you did. Caroline told me about you, so from what I gather, you seem to be someone I could tolerate with her."_

_"And what about you? I claim Caroline as my sister, so do you like my sister?"_

_"She has a boyfriend mate. I'm not someone that chases women that aren't single."_

_"Rebekah said you like her though."_

_"Well yes, I technically like her mate, but I'm not going to do anything about it."_

_"Looks like we're in the same boat then."_

_"Looks like it mate, but Rebekah likes you too. She used to talk about you and Caroline a lot when she came back. She really missed you guys."_

_"We really missed her too. Caroline cried every day for weeks when she had to leave."_

_"Rebekah cried too. Rebekah is the only girl out of all us siblings, so I think she thinks of Caroline as a sister."_

_"That's something I can relate to. My mom died shortly after I was born, so she only had me and my brother. Caroline is the sister I didn't have like Rebekah sees her."_

_"Can I tell you something and you not react about it? Caroline would probably never speak to me again if she knew I told you. We all know about it, but you don't. Nobody from Mystic Falls knows about this, but Caroline and Tyler. Well, Matt knows part of it."_

_"What did he do now?"_

_"A lot, but if you knew you would react the same as I would if it were Bekah."_

_"If I can keep it quiet, would you tell me?"_

_"I would get your help with it and tell you everything."_

_"I promise not to say anything to anybody. The only ones that will know I know are me and you."_

_"Okay, well I have to start from the beginning. The first night at school, Tyler came to the party with Caroline. Rebekah said he was acting off all night, but she didn't know why. Kol walked Rebekah back to the dorms and I had went outside to get away from the crowd. When I went to walk back in, I saw Tyler dragging Caroline around the house. He was trying to get her to sleep with him, but she didn't want to. He hurt her a lot mate. He pushed her into the wall repeatedly and grabbed her by her shoulders and shook her."_

_"So, she didn't fall in the shower?"_

_"Oh she did fall, but it was the next night. The only thing the shower caused though was the concussion and the cut on her head. The cracked ribs was from Tyler."_

_"I'm going to kill him."_

_"Be patient with me here. I'm not telling you so you'll kill him. I'm telling you so you can help us get them apart without her getting caught in the crossfire."_

_"Alright, I'm listening."_

_"I walked over to see if she was alright, and she made me promise to not say anything. The next day, I made her show me her back and I snuck a picture of it with my phone." _He said as he reached for the phone to pull up the picture and show it to him. _"Kol had accidently saw the top of her back when we were all having lunch together, so I pulled him aside and shortly explained what I saw and asked for his cooperation in helping, but keeping Bekah out of it. When Caroline fell in the shower, Rebekah saw everything and helped Caroline with the cover story at the hospital. When we brought her back to the dorms, she told us how long it had been going on and what all he had done to her."_

_"When did it start?"_

_"She didn't give a complete time frame, but she said it was when he had been suspended for 3 games."_

_"I remember that. That was only a couple months after they got together."_

_"Anyway, moving on. During senior year, she got pregnant through everything he did to her. Do you remember when she had a broken arm and leg?"_

_"Yes."_

_"That was Tyler making Caroline miscarry because she wouldn't get an abortion or give the baby up for adoption. She was nearly 3 months along mate. She thinks she can help him get better, so she refuses to leave him. However, she called Matt and he told her about a little visit he paid to Tyler at his school. Apparently, Matt had tried calling Tyler, and when he didn't answer he just swung by the dorms. It took Tyler a while to answer, but when he did there was a girl in there with him wearing one of his shirts. Caroline said that it could be a million things, but they think he knew her from Tennessee or something and they met again in college. Caroline refuses to believe he cheated on her the day after the party. She said she won't believe it until he tells her to her face."_

_"And what if he hurts her again?"_

_"Then we'll get proof and report it. That's about all we can do besides gather her medical records."_

_"I can actually do that. My brother works at the police station with Liz. I can have him pull the records, copy them, and send them to me."_

_"Wouldn't he tell Liz?"_

_"He owes me a favor. And he definitely owes her more after the way he done her."_

_"She told us that he went with her to get to Elena. I'm sorry mate."_

_"I never liked how he did Caroline. He seduced her and she found out that he had only used her, it nearly crushed her. She decided to just get a lot of revenge through pranks instead of doing anything to him because he's my brother."_

_"So your brother was her first?"_

_"Yes. There's a pretty good gap in their ages too, so you can imagine how she felt since she was smaller then. She's not had much luck with guys, so if you do ever decide to go after her, you better be good to her. Right now, we need a plan to get rid of Tyler."_

_"When she goes home, she's going to ask him about the Hayley girl. She wants to have him alone with her when she does, so why don't we follow with a camera. If he does anything, we'll have proof for her to use against him."_

_"That would work, but I don't want him to get the chance again."_

_"Are there any security cameras set up around town?"_

_"Only outside the bank or in the square. I think Tyler's house has some set up outside the house since his mom is the mayor after his dad died."_

_"Maybe we could use that. Although, it would be easier if he broke up with her when we all went to visit next week."_

_"If he comes at all, he won't break up with her when there are single guys that are near her. He's always been possessive with his girlfriends. Vicki had a hard time getting away from him when they dated. I don't know if he ever hit her, but if Tyler gets caught, Matt is going to want to investigate how he was with his sister."_

_"That's understandable mate. Wouldn't you?"_

_"Of course I would. Caroline must have covered up with concealer or something because I couldn't see any bruises."_

_"She must have. I saw her back earlier and she still had a few that were yellowish. I have to agree with her when she says she's a fast healer."_

_"What do you say about interrupting girl time?"_

_"Are you going to flirt with my sister?"_

_"Probably."_

_"Well at least you're honest." _ Klaus replied as he stood. _"We'll change and then sneak up and listen in. Maybe they'll be talking about guys and you can find out if Bekah likes you."_

_"I can already tell you that you won't hear anything from Caroline about you. She doesn't look at other guys when she's in a relationship."_

_"Well I might still get her opinion or something mate." _He said with a smirk as they split to go change. When they met back in the hallway they snuck up the stairs and sat down in the hallway. The girls were in Caroline's room and the door was cracked, so they could hear everything.

_"So, what are we going to get into when we go to your mom's?"_

_"I don't know, but we'll think of something. We could go to the lake or mom could go camping with us."_

_"Well if we did go camping, there wouldn't be any way to keep your mom from going. You're her only daughter and she wouldn't want you doing a tent tango with anyone."_

_"Bekah I know you don't like Tyler, but if he didn't go with us, I wouldn't be doing a tent tango with anyone."_

_"I know you wouldn't, but it never hurts to look at your options."_

_"You know I don't do that. What about you? Anyone catch your eye?"_

_"Yes, but I don't have a chance with him."_

_"And how do you figure that?"_

_"I would probably never be what he wanted me to be. He's very sweet to me, but it could mean that he's just being nice. I don't want to take the chance and him end up pushing me away."_

_"It's Stefan isn't it?"_

_"I really hate you're highly perceptive sometimes Care, but yes it's Stefan."_

_"I think you have a chance. I think he likes you, but you can be intimidating to men."_

_"Why do you say that?"_

_"Because you're gorgeous and it can make a guy think that he doesn't have a chance."_

_"But Stefan's hot himself. He's like the total bloody package; hot, nice, and caring. I don't stand a chance."_

_"Rebekah we're not in elementary school; or even high school. We're in college, so be the grown woman that you are and take a chance. I want to see you both happy, and I think you guys would be perfect together."_

_"We'll see how things go. I'm not making the first move, so if he is interested he'll have to do it."_

_"That's fine. It's perfectly normal for a guy to make the move."_

_"What about you Care?"_

_"What about me? I have a boyfriend."_

_"Yes and he's a complete ass. Has no one caught your eye?"_

_"I'd have to be looking for that to happen Bekah."_

_"It doesn't hurt to look."_

_"It can hurt to look. It creates migraines to analyze what men do when you think they're interested and I refuse to fall to the temptation looking can bring. Even looking at another guy right now would feel like I'm cheating or betraying somehow."_

_"He's already hurt you though Care."_

_"Two wrongs don't make a right Bekah. All that would do is lead to worse problems than I already have."_

_"So why don't you just leave him and be free?"_

_"Even if Tyler and I broke up, I wouldn't look for a while. I need to focus on school and finding a job. Plus, it would take a while to get over everything."_

_"You have time Care. You know your birthday is coming up soon."_

_"I know. I stopped celebrating it."_

_"It's going to be a sad month for everybody here. Your birthday is the only good repetitive day we'll have. Let me throw you a birthday party."_

_"No Bekah."_

_"Please? You're going to be remembering your dad and we'll be remembering our little brother. I think we all deserve to have a good day next month. Instead of dwelling in the past, we can look forward to the future."_

_"You aren't going to give up are you?"_

_"Nope."_

_"Fine. Just make it something small."_

_"That's fine. It can be just us and your mom there."_

_"Okay." _Rebekah answered and Caroline's phone rang.

_"It's Tyler. I have to take this."_

_"Put it on speaker."_

_"Why?"_

_"Just do it?"_

_"Fine." _She said as she hit the talk button and turned the phone on speaker. _"Hello?"_

_"Hey babe. Are you still going home this coming up weekend?"_

_"Of course. I said I was."_

_"Well I might not be able to make it. I've got tons of classwork to do."_

_"I kind of need to talk to you Tyler."_

_"What about now?"_

_"Listen, I'm sorry for last week, but I can't do anything until the new birth control takes effect unless we use condoms."_

_"I'm not using those. You know I hate them Care."_

_"I know. That's why I didn't want to do anything."_

_"So what are you wanting to talk about then?"_

_"I want to see you."_

_"I miss you too babe, but I got too much to do. I doubt I'll be able to get any spare time until fall break."_

_"Tyler my birthday is coming up. Are you going to be able to come before then?"_

_"I doubt it. I might have to miss your birthday too, but I'll make it up to you."_

_"Tyler, this weekend is the first weekend we all get to visit each other and talk. I don't want you to miss it."_

_"It's not a big deal Care. Everything to you is bigger than it really is."_

_"Matt said he stopped by your dorm."_

_"I figured he would stir up trouble. Nothing happened. Hayley stayed in the dorm to catch up. You've been catching up with that Rebekah girl."_

_"I moved in with her, her brothers and Stefan to get off campus."_

_"What? How could you do something like that without running it by me first?"_

_"I didn't think you would have a problem with me getting my own room. I had an accident at school and fell in the shower. I had to cover for you at the hospital. You cracked my ribs again Tyler."_

_"I'm sorry babe, but you know not to get me riled up; especially when I'm drinking. You shouldn't have dressed like that and then refuse me."_

_"I told you I wore that dress for you and I told you why I didn't want to sleep with you."_

_"It was your fault I snapped and you know it. Why do you always start a fight? Maybe I should go home this weekend so I can set you straight again."_

_"Tyler I still have bruises from last week. I'm not trying to fight with you. I love you; I just want to know what's going on."_

_"There's nothing going on except Matt running his mouth off to you and getting you against me. All it's going to do is piss me off and then I don't know what I'll do."_

_"You're getting better Tyler. We just have to keep working at it, and that includes seeing each other and talking."_

_"So if I don't show up you're going to break up with me?"_

_"I didn't say that Tyler."_

_"You meant it."_

_"No I didn't Tyler. I meant that I wanted to see you."_

_"I could come and help you break in your new bedroom."_

_"I'm not cleared by the doctor yet. My ribs aren't settled back yet."_

_"How long am I going to have to wait Care?"_

_"The doctor said a few weeks; it's only been one."_

_"I'm not waiting that long."_

_"It's longer than that until fall break."_

_"I'm not going to wait that long and that's the end of it."_

_"What are you saying?"_

_"I'm saying that either you let me come there when I want or I'm through with you."_

_"What? Tyler I have to wait. If you re-break my ribs, it could get really bad."_

_"I know how to stay away from your ribs. Do you want us over?"_

_"No."_

_"So when can I come over?"_

_"Not until my ribs set."_

_"Don't push me Caroline." _He yelled over the phone and she started crying. _"And now you're crying. God Care, you know those tears don't work on me. Make your choice."_

_"I can't just choose on this. I have doctor's orders. I barely covered up the last visit. What do you think they'll do if I have to go back?"_

_"I'm sure you'd think of something."_

_"I don't want to risk it."_

_"Then I guess we're done."_

_"Tyler don't do this. Not now; not like this."_

_"I didn't. This is your fault too. Just remember that when you're alone because no one will love you like I did." _He spit out before he hung up the phone. She dropped her phone and fell to her pillow crying. Bekah lied down beside her so she could rub her arm. The guys in the hallway didn't want her upset, but they were glad Tyler had left her. They were about to go back downstairs when Caroline's phone rang again. She shot up and answered it, putting it on speaker again.

_"Tyler?"_

_"Oh and I just wanted you to know that I'm already moving on, so don't come begging for me to take you back. Hayley's on her way up here and I know she loves what I can give out. Goodbye Caroline." _He said before he hung up again. Rebekah pulled her in a hug and let her cry while she was relieved that Tyler wouldn't be alone with Caroline anytime soon.

_"I can't believe it. Matt was right. I have to call him."_

_"Not tonight Caroline."_

_"He has to know in case Tyler calls him." _She stated and picked her phone back up. She informed Matt about the break up and told him to be prepared in case Tyler called him or stopped by. Then she called her mom and told her in case his mom mentioned it to her. Then she turned her phone off for the night.

_"Should I tell my brothers?"_

_"Just wait until tomorrow. I don't want to talk about it anymore."_

_"It's going to be okay Caroline. You're going to pick yourself up and move on from this. Just focus on school and the house until you find a job. I'll look for one with you if you want."_

_"I'll be fine working by myself Bekah. It will keep my mind busy for a while."_

_"At least we won't have to worry about him hurting you again."_

_"I'll still run into him from time to time Bekah. It's going to hurt just seeing him."_

_"If he touches you again, we'll all be there."_

_"I doubt he'll even look my way. He knows it would hurt to see him ignore me."_

_"Then let him. How about we hit the clubs when we aren't visiting your mom? That can be how we pass out weekends here until you start working."_

_"I don't want to."_

_"You used to love going out dancing."_

_"I don't feel like it." _She said as she got up and put some music on. The guys could hear her humming with the tune, and Klaus was hoping she would sing, but he doubted it. When the song switched, he got his wish. He could tell it was a song about being hurt, but he didn't know who it was that sung it. He was listening to Caroline sing and he gave a small smile before looking over to Stefan to see him looking at him. Stefan bent his head to signal they should move and they silently made their ways downstairs. They could still hear her at the bottom of the stairs so they sat on the bottom steps and listened. When the end of the song came, Klaus smiled at the commonalities with the song and Caroline.

**"So run, run, run… And hate me if it feels good. I can't hear your screams anymore. You lied to me, but I'm older now. And I'm not buying baby. Demanding my response, don't bother breaking the door down. I've found my way out, and you'll never hurt me again."**

_"What song was that?" _Klaus asked Stefan quietly as the music picked back up with a new song.

_"The Last Song I'm Wasting on You, by Evanescence. Caroline likes her music because she sings high notes like her."_

_"I tried to get her to let me hear her sing, but she wouldn't go past humming."_

_"She has stage fright. She usually only sings with the girls."_

_"She has a great voice. She shouldn't be shy about it."_

_"I don't think she's shy exactly; I think she feels like she can't sing. I heard her sing for Matt at the grill, so I know she can sing."_

_"It's going to take a while before she cheers back up isn't it?"_

_"You won't get many smiles out of her until she's decided to push past it. If you do see a smile it will be fake."_

_"We'll all think of something."_

_"When she's better, do you think you'll still have an interest in her?"_

_"I don't know Stefan. I don't do relationships, but I wouldn't do my usual with her. I'm kind of at an impasse about it."_

_"Well after we heard everything up there, I think I'm going to plan my first move with Bekah."_

_"She already likes you. Just ask her out."_

_"I want to have a plan for it. I'll ask her out, but I want the night planned first."_

_"I see your point. She loves pink, so that makes it easier for you."_

_"I know. Well I'm going to do some online shopping. Do you want to keep talking and I can give you some advice for Caroline, or do you want to do something else?"_

_"I'm going to lie down for a while. I have an idea to make her feel better, but I got to think of how to do it."_

_"Need help?"_

_"No mate; I can do this at least." _Klaus said as he walked in his room and pulled out his sketchpad. He sat there thinking about what she might like drawn for her, so he decided to sketch images of her until he thought of something. He started out with one of her and Rebekah hugging in the dorms with her mother standing behind them. When he finished with that one, he drew a picture of her and Rebekah dancing the night of the party before Tyler had shown up. Then he moved on to the next day when she and Rebekah had been laughing. He drew one of them laughing together before moving on to when she was driving them around to drop off her applications; for hat one he decided to do a collage and draw several of the faces and smiles she had shown, including her puppy dog face. Then he drew one of her face when they had started their little war. He was getting tired, but he didn't want to give up on drawing them yet. When dawn came, he packed up the drawings and took them with him to class. He spent the entire time in class drawing. He knew his next class would have Caroline in it and he wasn't done yet. With them all working together to get the house together and moving in, it gave him plenty of images to draw for her. When he looked at his little stack of drawings, he decided to stop and get a picture album on the way home to put them in there for her. It could be a birthday present at the rate he was going. He carefully hid the drawings in a folder in his bag before leaving class and going on to the one he had with Caroline. When he walked in, he didn't see her in there yet. He took his spot and saved her a spot next to him. When she walked in he waved at her. She made her way to the easel and sat, giving him a curious look.

_"Are you getting sick?"_

_"I don't get sick often love."_

_"You look really tired."_

_"I didn't go to sleep last night."_

_"I didn't either."_

_"Well we can't all be as naturally beautiful in the mornings as you love. Plus I don't drink demonic coffee." _He added and got a fake smile. Stefan had been right about her behavior, but he was ready for the challenge. _"I heard about what happened. I'm sorry he hurt you, but I think we all agree that it's better for you this way."_

_"I know. I'm just going to focus on school for a while."_

_"You'll be back out there in no time love."_

_"I've decided to stay single for a while. I've not had time to enjoy it much since I started dating, so I'm going to enjoy it now." _She stated with a nod and looked at the blank easel, lost in thought.

_"It's alright, but it does get boring after a while."_

_"I could use some boring."_

_"You are anything but boring love. You should know that already though."_

_"I know I'm a lot of trouble to put up with, but I do want to say thanks for trying to help me. I guess you don't have to be bothered now."_

_"You haven't bothered me love. I rather enjoy your company actually."_

_"Oh come on, either you've lectured me about my life choices or you've endured my crazy laughing fits. You declared war if I remember correctly."_

_"That can wait until you're feeling better."_

_"Um, no it's a good distraction. War is still on; I don't need a cease fire."_

_"If you're sure love."_

_"Definitely. I don't back down from war. You're going down." _She said and gave a small evil grin before turning back to the easel. _"Just remember we're going to my house this weekend. That means you'll be behind enemy lines; my turf. I'll have a bit of an advantage there."_

_"Maybe so, but I'm a quick thinker and I know how to be charming to distract long enough to make the right move."_

_"Maybe, but your charm won't work on me now will it?"_

_"Whatever you say love. I haven't tried to use it yet."_

_"Oh I have an interview today. Can you pick up some things if I give you the list?"_

_"Sure love. Where's the interview at?"_

_"A bar, but the waitresses have to take turns singing on the stage throughout their shifts."_

_"You'll do fine love. I could hear you somewhat last night, but you sounded great. If you get hired, I'll be sure to bring everyone to your first night."_

_"That is a dirty move in this war. I'd be nervous enough without everybody I live with there."_

_"Stefan's already heard you sing. Rebekah heard you last night in the same room as well. Kol and I haven't got to hear you and we want to."_

_"Kol won't stop pestering me about Bonnie. He saw a picture of her when I was unpacking and he wants to meet her."_

_"I'll talk to him, but there are no guarantees that I can get him to back off."_

_"If he was serious and didn't just want a night or two with her, I'd consider it. If he wants to be a ladies man I'm not going to expose her to him. Oh, and Elena can't wait to meet you two."_

_"The infamous Elena. How do I avoid her?"_

_"You don't. You won't want to anyway, remember?"_

_"I thought she was with Stefan's brother?"_

_"She is, but she still gets her hooks in others for when she moves on to the next target."_

_"I'm not interested in her. I'll warn Kol about her too."_

_"I love her; I really do, but I can't stand seeing her use the same technique over and over again. And the more you push her away, the more she'll be around you."_

_"Well Kol can just say he's interested in Bonnie and I'll just say I'm not interested in her and to leave me alone."_

_"Good luck with that. What are you going to do; hide out in my house all weekend?"_

_"Possibly. I'm working on something right now, and I'm not going to be bothered by her." _He said with a smirk and she shook her head. He was about to continue, but the teacher ran into the room apologizing to the students for being late. She instructed the class to move their easels to the side and pay attention to the slide projector as she turned out the lights and the TA went to the back of the class to use the projector. Klaus looked over at Caroline and saw her studying the picture that was being displayed. He watched her as she displayed every emotion she felt from the pictures. He was memorizing his favorites to sketch later as well as her favorite pictures. When class ended, Caroline checked the time and gathered all her stuff quickly before standing up in a rush.

_"I've got to run. I'll be late getting to my interview if I can't get out of here."_

_"Are you coming to class this evening?"_

_"Yea, I'll see you then."_

_"See you this evening love." _He hollered as she started skipping down the steps and darting out the door. Klaus chuckled at her, but he was anxious to know whether or not she got the job. If it was just singing, he didn't doubt it, but he didn't think she belonged working in a bar. He and Kol would probably start going there when she worked to make sure no one messed with her. He went to the store to get the things off the list that Caroline had given him; thankful there were no feminine products he had to get, and headed home. When everything was unloaded, he ran to his room and set an alarm so he wouldn't get lost in his drawings and miss class later. He set out to draw more of Caroline's expressions, and put the ones he had already drawn in the new album he had bought while at the store. While organizing everything, Stefan knocked on the door. Klaus covered up everything and let him in.

_"Hey man, I was wondering if you had thought of something yet."_

_"As a matter of fact, I have. Shut the door and I'll show you why I didn't go to sleep last night." _He instructed as Stefan shut the door and Klaus handed him the album. Stefan looked through it and raised his eyebrows in surprise.

_"She'll love it. When are you giving it to her?"_

_"When it's full, which I hope is by her birthday."_

_"That's a bit too soon, but you can try. What else you got?"_

_"That's it for now, but I have a few ideas to go with it. What about you?" _Klaus asked and Stefan pulled a box out of his pockets. Klaus looked at him skeptically until he opened it and saw a pink and red butterfly with hearts at the top of its antennae. _"Bekah will be putty in your hands mate. Does Caroline like jewelry?"_

_"She does, but she doesn't like people getting it for her. She likes things that matter; not things that costs a lot. The drawings are a great start."_

_"I'm going to make a copy of one of the paintings that Caroline kept staring at in class. I think it was her favorite one."_

_"Ooh that's good. Okay, so what else can you do?"_

_"I don't know mate; I'm out of practice and she decided to stay single for a while. I don't want to appear pushy or anything."_

_"You're right. Okay, so don't be pushy; be determined."_

_"Okay well since you've known her for a while, why don't you put in a good word mate? You can get Rebekah to help you. Just wait until I make the first move."_

_"She knows you better than I do and Rebekah is your sister. What do I know that they don't already?"_

_"Talk about how we gave each other the baby sister warnings. I don't know. That's about the only thing they really missed, but DO NOT mention us spying on them."_

_"You want an inside man."_

_"Precisely mate."_

_"I'll try." _Stefan answered and Klaus' phone alarm went off.

_"Well I have to get back to school for my last class of the day. Caroline should know whether or not she got a job when I get there."_

_"Where's this one?"_

_"A bar. She applied for a waitressing position, but the waitresses have to sing during different parts of the night."_

_"Wow. She's picking up fast."_

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"She's decided to stay single and she applied for a job where she would have to sing in public. She's doing things that she's been afraid of doing for a while. I have a feeling, I'm about to see a Caroline I haven't met yet. Be wary man; she doesn't stop until she accomplishes a goal and I don't know what this one is."_

_"Well I have to go. I'll text you when I know something." _Klaus said as he put the album in his bag with his sketchbook and headed out the door again. When he made it to his class, he saw Caroline talking to the professor about missing the last class and Klaus walked up behind her to wait. The teacher noticed him waiting and motioned him forward. Since Klaus had been the one to tell Caroline about the assignment, the teacher decided to seat Caroline next to Klaus so she would be able to pick up on what she was supposed to do. Caroline already knew how to use the programs, but she didn't contradict the teacher. Klaus gave her a curious look and Caroline gave a quick shake of her head. The teacher told them to take their seats and discuss everything before the rest of the students came in.

_"I got the job." _Caroline whispered as she stepped past him to sit next to him.

_"That's good love. Now, I'm supposed to go over how to do these things, so let's get it done before everyone comes in."_

_"I already know how. I just acted like I didn't so I could talk about the job." _She whispered and gave her evil grin.

_"That was a wicked move love. Be careful; your mischievousness is showing."_

_"I don't care; I got the job. I work Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during the weeks that I don't go home. On weeks I go home, I switch out Saturdays for Tuesdays. And I have off for every class."_

_"Sounds like the perfect schedule love."_

_"Oh it is, but I have to go shopping. I have to buy some black shorts and some black shoes; they gave me three shirts today."_

_"Do you have them on you?"_

_"Yes, but I don't think I should show you."_

_"And why is that love?"_

_"Because I don't think any of you all would let me out of the house if you saw it. It kind of shows off as much as a cheer top does."_

_"Kol and I won't be able to keep away from the bar now love; I guess you win this battle."_

_"This wasn't part of the war."_

_"I'm counting it sweetheart, as well as the little trick you just pulled with the teacher. However, I'm working on something that will give me a few points." _He whispered before moving to her ear to continue. _"You won't know what to think love." _He whispered before pulling back, making sure his cheek rubbed her jaw. He figured it would do something to her, but she had a good poker face on and curled her finger at him to make him bend back down towards her. She moved around to the side of his face and rested her hand on his other cheek.

_"Didn't I say charm wouldn't work on me? If you try to use it I will retaliate and I don't think you would be able to handle it." _She finished and moved away from him, turning to the computer screen with a blank face. He silently gulped before moving back to his former position and smirked.

_"Whatever you say love." _He said lowly so she would hear from there. She didn't look his way or falter in working through the assignment. He kept sneaking glances in her direction, but she didn't give in. Even though Caroline was unfazed on the outside, her insides were scrambling. She knew it was a dangerous move to make, but he had started it and she figured she had more control than he did on reactions from the body. She noticed in her peripheral vision that he kept sneaking glances her way, so she made sure to keep her eyes locked on the screen. Eventually she focused her thoughts completely on the classwork until class was over. Since they were the last class of the day, the students were responsible for shutting the computers down. Caroline shut her computer down before going to the vacant one on her side and shutting it down as well. Then she went back to her station and gathered her things. _"Coming home love?"_

_"Nope; I'm going shopping."_

_"Would you like some company?"_

_"I doubt you want to sit there while I try on shorts."_

_"What are you going to do when it turns winter?"_

_"Then we get pants, but for now I'm just buying the shorts."_

_"I could help you critique them."_

_'Nice move, but no thanks. I won't be long. If you came with me, I might be tempted to make you go pick up some things for me. I doubt you'd want to." _She said with her own smirk and walked to the door. She made sure to get to her car before he caught up with her. He made it to the lot in time to see her car pull onto the road. He gave a smirk before calling Stefan and telling him that Caroline had got the job and informing him of how she had to dress. Stefan asked if he had seen Rebekah, but he told him no. He got off the phone with Stefan so he could phone Rebekah. When she picked up, she said she would call him back later because she was busy. He told Stefan that she was fine and went to his car.


	6. Chapter 6

**Visits and Secrets**

The rest of the week passed quickly. Caroline and Rebekah kept disappearing together and came home with a karaoke machine one night. Caroline and Rebekah had been singing in the basement while exercising. Klaus and Stefan would camp out next to the basement door to listen while Klaus would draw and Stefan would do homework. Klaus and Caroline kept up the bantering and teasing all week, before pulling out the pranks. Most of the time, everyone would watch or laugh at them, but sometimes they had to run from the pranks. Everyone's favorite prank so far had been when she teased and went outside and hid; when he followed she came out and pushed him in the pool. He had gotten out and chased her down until he caught her and threw her over his shoulder to go back to the pool and dunk her in. She had went inside and grabbed the sugar before taking it outside and tossing it on him and saying that he could now be called sweet before running and locking the door to her room. Klaus had gone to shower the sugar off and Caroline quickly changed and ran to the store to replace the sugar she had tossed. When she got back, Klaus was out of the shower and waiting on her. He had admitted she won that battle, but to prepare for the next one. Kol had been bored enough to aggravate Caroline enough to let him Skype Bonnie before they met that weekend. Damon had drove Stefan's SUV up that week so they could all travel together and checked out the house before heading back with one of his friends. Caroline had been glad to miss his visit, but she noticed she was happier each day being single again.

Klaus was on overdrive at night with drawing and painting, so everything would be ready for her birthday. He had also found a gift that she could share with her mother that he thought she would accept. He noticed he was drastically losing the war he had declared with Caroline, but he was enjoying the time they spent together. The closer the weekend came, the more nervous Caroline had become. She didn't know if Tyler and Hayley would show up, but she figured he would want to show her off and she would see them during their trip. She had a plan in place in case she saw them; Saturdays were karaoke nights at the grill, courtesy of Matt working there and making sure he had a song she had asked for in case Tyler showed up.

When it finally came time for everybody to leave Friday night, Liz had called and told them to go on in the house and she would be late getting in; so they would all eat out on Saturday. Caroline was smiling inside at her luck, but kept her face from showing it. The only one she had discussed her plan with was Rebekah; who had planned to give her a makeover before going out. Caroline had to Klaus that the weekend was a cease fire because she had plans that she had to do; Klaus was curious, but he agreed when she said he would see what she meant. Matt had called her to tell her that Tyler would in fact be in town and at the grill on Saturday, so he had her music ready. Klaus noticed her behavior had taken on a stronger presence inside of her, so he decided to talk to her. He found the opportunity when Kol left to meet Bonnie, and Stefan and Rebekah went to the store. He walked up to her room and knocked.

_"Come in." _Caroline said through the door. Wen Klaus walked in, he shut the door behind him and sat at her vanity. She took a seat on her bed to face him. _"What's up?"_

_"You love."_

_"What?"_

_"You've got something going on."_

_"Yes I do and I told you that you would see what it was when we go to the grill."_

_"Not just that. You got a job where you have to sing in front of people, you're dressing and acting different, and you look fearless."_

_"That's because I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I'm facing my fears and moving on with my life."_

_"Which fears?"_

_"Well the singing is one fear. Another fear is being alone; to which I'm staying single. Tyler is another fear, but I'm not going to let him get to me."_

_"Is he in town?"_

_"Yes. I talked to Matt. He'll be at the grill tomorrow."_

_"When all of us are?"_

_"Yes and the grill will be full. Don't worry; I got a plan."_

_"I want in. What's the plan love?"_

_"This plan is for me alone. No one can help me pull it off."_

_"I know you're facing fears, but being fearless doesn't mean letting down your guard. You still have to be careful; especially IN the town where his mother is the mayor."_

_"I know, but we're leaving the day after to go home and I won't be alone any while we're here. I'm hardly ever really alone anymore anyway."_

_"That's because we have a little war going on that I'm trying to win. You've been a worthy adversary love."_

_"Do you forfeit?"_

_"Never love."_ He said as he offered his hand. She went to shake it, but he brought it to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. She narrowed her eyes before nodding.

_"Being charming still doesn't work." _She pointed out before going and opening her door and motioning for him to take his exit.

_"Only because you refuse to let it." _He whispered in her ear on his way out. Caroline gave him a look to say it still wasn't working before smiling and closing her door. When she was behind the closed door, she let her nerves come out silently. She knew it had been a bad idea to let him use charm against her and her use it back, but he made it too easy. She reached to trace her knuckles and caught herself smiling at the thought of him. She looked up and shook her head and hands before lying down to wait on Rebekah. She had a long day ahead of her tomorrow before taking a stand. She was surprised when she couldn't sleep. She didn't know if it was her nerves from Klaus or from her stunt coming up the next day, but she decided to go get some water and grab a movie for her room. She changed into her pajama shorts and tank top before making her way downstairs. As she was coming into the kitchen, Klaus rounded the corner and they ran into each other. Caroline was about to fall, but Klaus caught her and set her right on her feet. _"Sorry love; you alright?"_

_"Yeah, thanks for catching me. Another concussion might have thrown off my plans tomorrow."_

_"Why won't you tell me what you're doing?"_

_"Fine, but you can't say a word. The only other people that know are Bekah and Matt. I found a song that I can use to give a message to Tyler. It says I'm done being afraid of him and lets him know that I know he's not the innocent one in this. Consider it a break-up and don't talk to me again song. Him, his mother, his new girlfriend, and most of the town officials will be there. I'm going to humiliate him because he'll know that it's meant for him, and everyone knows that me and him were dating a couple weeks ago. Not only will him bringing Hayley show that we're over, but me singing this song will show it for me. This is to make it known that I'm not his anymore."_

_"Well, how about you let me offer you and dance afterwards?"_

_"Why?"_

_"How bad do you want you want to show that you don't care he left you?"_

_"I see your point. I don't want to dance with you as a tool though."_

_"So dance with me because you want to."_

_"And how do you figure that I want to dance with you?"_

_"Well I want to dance with you love, and I know you're itching to say yes."_

_"One dance."_

_"Make it 2 and we have a deal love."_

_"Fine; 2 dances. You better not step on my feet either."_

_"I know how to dance love." _He said as he took her hand and spun her into him. He placed a hand on her hip as his other hand trailed a hand from her arm to her other hip. _"Are you sure charm don't work on you?" _He said as he rested his head on her shoulder. She pushed through her nerves and spun to move them face to face.

_"Absolutely." _He replied before ducking under his arm and going to the fridge for her water. _"Goodnight Klaus." _She said and walked towards her room. Once behind the closed door again, Caroline let out a breath and opened her water so she could gulp down half of it immediately. Stefan and Rebekah came back shortly after that with snacks for everyone and Rebekah disappeared in Caroline's room. Stefan stayed behind to talk to Klaus. When Rebekah made sure the bedroom door was locked and stuffed so no one could hear them, she turned on some music and sat with Caroline.

_"Care, why are you as red as an apple?"_

_"Your damn brother."_

_"I thought you guys had a cease fire for the weekend."_

_"We do. He apparently is trying to improve a tactic."_

_"Which one?"_

_"Charm."_

_"What did he do?"_

_"Well, after he came up to talk and I was kicking him out, he did the hand kiss thing. Then I went to the kitchen a little later to get some water. I nearly fell when we literally ran into each other, but he caught me. His hand lingered a little longer than necessary. Then he asked if I would give him 2 dances tomorrow after I sang. I agreed and told him to not step on my feet; he took my hand and spun me into him before doing those little annoying light touched and grabbing my hips. I decided to fight back when he asked if I was sure that charm didn't work with me; I spun around and teased a little before saying that I was sure and ducking to get my water and come back in here." _She said quickly.

_"He's asking that because he likes you."_

_"We all have to like each other to live together; otherwise it would be a nightmare."_

_"That's not what I meant. He likes you as more than a friend."_

_"Well I'm sorry, but I'm staying single."_

_"So did the charm work?"_

_"A little bit."_

_"I don't see why you won't consider going out with my brother?"_

_"I've not been single long Bekah and I want to enjoy it."_

_"Okay so enjoy it for a little while, but consider my brother while you do it. He's not going to back off anytime soon, but he will eventually give up if you don't give in. You do realize the guys are going to be camped out at the bar with us when we start. I still can't believe you got me on there."_

_"I know. The guys are going to be surprised when they show up expecting just one of us and see both."_

_"Well at least we won't have to worry about walking to the car by ourselves at night; that gives me the creeps."_

_"I know, but it's close to home and school. We'll be fine; we have the men and I have the gun under the driver's seat of my car. And before you ask, I have a permit and I know how to shoot."_

_"That's good to know. I hope we never have to use it though."_

_"I think it's better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it."_

_"True, so when do you want to get up?"_

_"Mom's waking us up when she has breakfast cooked and then she's going to take us out while the guys go do guy stuff."_

_"So that means we're getting our hair and nails done?"_

_"Yes, and then we're coming here to do each other's make-up. Mom will take us to the grill and the guys will meet us there. Matt will text when I'm up, so help me listen for my phone."_

_"This is going to be bloody perfect."_

_"I know."_

_"I like this fearless you."_

_"I do too."_

_"You know that wouldn't go away if you got with my brother. He's falling for you fast."_

_"That's not always a good thing Bekah."_

_"I think it's fate."_

_"Why would you say that?"_

_"You and I hadn't seen each other since I left. We end up going to the same college with my brothers; and you and I were roommates. Nik was the one to see you and Tyler after the party. He's been there and you've brought him back out from that wall he put up after Tatia. I just feel like you two are right for each other."_

_"If that's the case Bekah, he'll wait until I'm ready to be with someone again. I'm not; I'm ready to be just me."_

_"I love you both, so don't make my brother wait too long. It'll just hurt you both._

_"Bekah I'm not holding him back from seeing whoever he chooses. He's as free as I am at the moment."_

_"He likes you though. Don't waste time holding yourself back from something that could be epic."_

_"Come on Bekah; we need to get some sleep."_

_"Fine, but this isn't over." _Rebekah warned and laid down to wait until Caroline was asleep. When Caroline's breathing evened out, Rebekah sneaked out of the room to go talk to Klaus. She found him taking the couch since Stefan had went to see his brother for a little while and Kol was already crashing in the guestroom. _"Hey Nik." _She whispered and held a finger up to her mouth to signal for him to be quiet.

_"What is it Bekah?"_

_"I wanted to talk to you."_

_"About what?"_

_"Caroline. She told me about your little kitchen charm stunt. I thought you two had a cease fire?"_

_"We do, but the kitchen thing was spur of the moment; I didn't plan it."_

_"I didn't say you did. Don't push her too fast alright?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"She just got single again and she doesn't want a relationship yet. Do you plan on waiting until she is to make a move or are you going to give up on her if she isn't ready in time for you?"_

_"Do I ever give up Bekah? Also, why don't you point out how many women I've taken an interest in for more than sex since Tatia?"_

_"I know you don't give up, but Caroline is just as stubborn as you are. If you really like her and want a relationship with her then I will help you. But, if you just want to fool around or give up before she gives in, then I will help her avoid you and that outcome."_

_"Does she like me back?"_

_"I think she does, but she won't admit it. Her cheeks were bright red when I walked in there from your little kitchen stunt."_

_"Well I wasn't the only one playing on that one. I had to go fix a problem when she walked into her room."_

_"Okay Nik that was way too much information from you. I just have a feeling about you guys; don't give up on her. She'll try to push you away and she might even piss you off, but don't give up. That's just how Caroline is when a guy gets close to her. She's been played before, so she won't go through it again."_

_"Thanks for the talk Bekah, but I think Caroline is going to need weeks, maybe months, before she's ready for something more. I don't have any other plans so it looks like I'll be here."_

_"You can't go out sleeping around while you wait either."_

_"I've not been."_

_"Okay, so don't; even if she drives you to it." _She warned softly and stood to go back to bed. _"Goodnight Nik."_

_"Goodnight Bekah." _He replied and stretched out on the couch. He was still awake when Liz walked in the door and tried to be quiet. She noticed Klaus on the couch and gave a small wave and smile. She leaned her head towards the kitchen and he got up to follow her.

_"Hey. Is everybody settled in alright?"_

_"Yes ma'am. Stefan decided to go stay with his brother tonight to give more room here, but he's coming back in the morning. Kol is in the guestroom and actually behaving himself, and the girls are in Caroline's room."_

_"Thank you. Want to sit with me while I eat? I want to ask some questions."_

_"That's fine." _He replied and pulled out a chair to sit down close to Liz.

_"You know Damon works on the force with me? And that he's Stefan's brother?"_

_"Yes."_

_"You know he talks to me every time he talks to Stefan?"_

_"I didn't know that, but I would assume you listened to anything regarding the house."_

_"You assume correctly; anywhere my daughter is I'm going to listen in on. I hear that you like her."_

_"You hear correctly, but it's not too well known."_

_"What are your intentions with my daughter?"_

_"I like your daughter, but she's said she wants to be single for a while."_

_"Have you asked her out already?"_

_"No ma'am. She said it during a conversation we had a couple times when I inquired about how she was doing emotionally since the break-up."_

_"Do you know why they broke up?"_

_"Well he had some indiscretions with an old friend he reunited with in college. I believe she's from Tennessee and they're both in town this weekend. I met him once and heard him over the phone a couple times, and I didn't think he treated her correctly."_

_"How do you mean?"_

_"I felt he didn't have any respect for her or truly cared about her. I felt like he was using her."_

_"I never thought they should have gotten together, but they had both been through so much that I didn't say anything. They found comfort in each other through all the deaths, but I think they should have stayed friends."_

_"He pushed her to it. She tried to stay friends for a while, but he kept at her until she gave in. She was a teenager, so that's normal."_

_"I want to know something and I'm hoping you don't dodge the question like everybody else; you seem to be honest and upfront about things. Did he ever hurt her physically? I just thought it was a big coincidence that she had to go to the hospital the day after Tyler visited her. She seems to be very accident prone around him. She's accident prone anyway, but not hospital worthy. Since they got together, she's been to the hospital more than 3 times the rest of her life. I'm not blind, but I can't do anything unless I know for sure. What tipped me off about this last hospital trip was that I caught Damon pulling Caroline's medical records to copy them. I'm guessing they were for Stefan to use against Tyler. Did my daughter really fall in the shower or was it a lie?"_

_"She did fall in the shower, but only her head injuries were from it. I saw what Tyler did the night before, but she refused my help. I've been… hovering… ever since I guess you could say."_

_"Did she tell you anything else?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Will you tell me? She's my only child and I want to protect her."_

_"If you don't let on that you know to anybody unless he tries something new, I will tell you. My brother, Stefan, and I are all watching both her and Rebekah to protect them now. Unless they manage to sneak off from the three of us, it's unlikely anything would happen. However, I will tell you what I know."_

_"I understand the law. It's too late for her to press charges, but I can help keep him from getting to her again. How many times did he hurt her?"_

_"She doesn't have an accurate count. It's too many times to keep up with."_

_"Why would she stay?" _Liz wondered out loud.

_"She wanted to help him stop. The first time was at school when he got in trouble and she followed to talk to him. She said the worst was when he pushed her down the stairs at his house. It's when she had a broken arm and leg, with some cracked ribs and something you don't know about."_

_"I remember that. She wouldn't stop crying for a couple days and she barely talked or ate for weeks."_

_"She was pregnant. That's why he pushed her." _He offered quietly and she covered her mouth and looked up at the ceiling towards Caroline's room with tears streaming down her face. _"She was nearly 3 months and she wouldn't abort it or give it up for adoption, so he took the matter into his own hands."_

_"What was this last time about?" _She whispered as she tried to contain her tears. Klaus pursed his lips before leaning forward and grabbing Liz's hand.

_"This part is awkward for me to discuss, but I'll do my best. After they left the party, Tyler pulled her to the side of one of the building and tried to get her to… have…sex. She didn't want to because she had just switched her birth control and she would have had to use a condom or something for a couple weeks. Tyler won't use condoms and she didn't want to chance him getting her pregnant again. So, he grabbed her by her hair or shoulders and kept pushing her into a wall. She got him to stop and he left. I went to check on her and she made me promise to not say anything. I've had to break that promise to 5 people now. Don't let her know you know. As long as Tyler isn't alone with her, he won't do anything. I'm not letting her out of my sight if I can help it."_

_"Thank you for telling me. And thank you for helping my daughter and for trying to help protect her. When she's ready to date again after all of this… you have my permission. Until she's ready, just be there and she'll come around. I thought I was going to give another parental warning when I saw you on the couch; not a blessing."_

_"I have a couple surprises planned for Caroline's birthday. Would you like to see them?" _He asked to cheer her up. She nodded with a smile and went to grab his bag for his sketchbook, the album and the jewelry box. He showed her the mother/daughter necklaces and she smiled. Then he showed her the current sketch he was working on. Then he let her look through the album.

_"Did you draw these yourself?"_

_"Yes; I've been working on them since the night they broke up."_

_"You're really good. She'll love them."_

_"We're in the same art class, so I paid attention to what her favorite paintings were and I'm painting copies, as well as some of my own to go with all of this. Do you think it's enough or should I think of something else?"_

_"She'll love it all. How many more drawings are you going to do?"_

_"Just enough to fill the album, but if I fill it up too soon, I can buy another album and fill it up. She has so many expressions she does; it's fun to try and capture them all. I'm half-tempted to go snap a picture of the girls sleeping so I can draw that."_

_"I'll wake you up and let you wake them up for breakfast. One picture going to be enough?"_

_"Should be, but I'll take a couple close-ups of her face. I don't dare go into her room back at the house unless she's awake and I knock."_

_"She can be very intimidating I hear."_

_"I may have given her a reason to be. She likes to pull pranks and jokes, so I declared war. I've been pushed in a pool, covered in sugar, the toilet was covered in spray oil so I slid off, and numerous other things; the hardest thing to have to go through is her teasing me though. I've not had to use that much restraint in my life."_

_"Restraint from what exactly?"_

_"Not what you're thinking. When she's telling me off, she gets right in my face or whispers evilly in my ear. I pulled her into me earlier to show her I know how to dance, but she used it against me and then ran to her room. I keep reminding myself that she's not ready for anything more than friends, but she makes it really difficult."_

_"I was young once, so I understand. I used to be like that with her father; it drove him crazy too. She's testing you. You can test her back, but not too much. Just do what she does to you and walk away. I would love to say don't have sex with my daughter, but in this day and time it's normal, so if you do you better be safe about it."_

_"I can promise that I will be as safe as possible if your daughter and I ever do anything. I have to manage to get her to go out with me long before that happens, so you don't have anything to worry about for now."_

_"Okay. I think we've had enough serious discussions for one night, but you've done well. You've got my vote; and from what I hear, you've got Stefan and Rebekah's votes as well."_

_"I still have to get Caroline's vote though; that's the one that matters. You know Rebekah used to talk about you and Caroline all the time when she came back home. I never saw us all seeing each other though."_

_"Everything happens for a reason; the good and the bad." _She said before she patted his shoulder and excused herself to go to bed. Klaus put everything back up and laid back down. It didn't take him long to fall asleep that time. The next morning, Liz made good on her word to wake him up to get the girls up. He crept into the room and snapped a couple pictures before creeping back out to show Liz. Then she went in and woke them up to cover for him. Klaus went to wake up Kol and ended up halfway carrying him to the table, while Kol grumbled about it being too early. Rebekah looked about like Kol until she sat down, but Caroline walked with her eyes closed until she got her some coffee made and drank. Then she made another cup and everybody else one before passing them out and taking a seat herself and sipping at her second cup. Liz and Klaus watched her as she looked like she was going to doze back off into her coffee.

_"This reminds me of all the sleepovers you two had in school. You both looked like this every morning." _Liz said as she smiled in memory.

_"And I'll say what I did then… there's no sleep on sleepovers."_

_"You were asleep when I got home." _Liz remarked.

_"And Bekah's still a cover hog."_

_"You rolled me out of the bed." _Rebekah interrupted with a pout.

_"You rolled the cover around you. I tried to catch you though, and you pulled me down with you."_

_"Girls it's too early for you two to start. Let me get a couple more pots of coffee in my system and some earplugs." _Kol inserted to stop them from raising the volume.

_"Kol, you and the girls are acting hung over. Anything anybody wants to tell me?" _Liz said as she went to inspect each of them.

_"Mom, me and Bekah really did have a tug of war over the cover and it turned into a pillow fight, and then a wrestling match." _Caroline said with the best innocent face she could muster when she was still half asleep.

_"I miss everything!" _ Kol remarked and dropped his head to the table._ "I didn't drink anything, but I was up and down a lot of the night thinking. That Bonnie can be so mean."_

_"What did you say to her Kol?" _Caroline asked and sipped her coffee.

_ "I just said that she was an exotic beauty and that I was the traveler that had been seeking her. I thought I was being romantic. Don't you girls like romance?"_

_"Kol that's just too much. Bonnie's a simple girl and she's only had like 2 boyfriends. You just embarrassed her. I'll talk to her and tell her that you were nervous with seeing her face to face and accidently went overboard. Just DON'T screw it up again or I won't help you anymore." _Kol replied and Caroline pulled her phone out of her bra from the bottom of her shirt. Klaus looked to Liz to indicate what he had meant and she smiled. Klaus looked up and the ceiling and then to his sister. His sister was grinning behind her coffee. When Caroline had finished texting Bonnie, she put the phone back in her bra the same way she got it out before looking down to make sure it didn't show. Then she shrugged and looked over to Kol. _"You better be happy buddy; you got one more shot. Just be natural and do something normal for her. And don't try anything funny; she doesn't do that."_

_"What?!"_

_"You heard me Kol. If that's a problem, then back out now."_

_"It's not a problem; just a speed bump on the road of love."_

_"Uh just shoot me now. Mom are we ready to go?"_

_"No, I made my breakfast casserole and you all will eat before we go anywhere." _Liz replied as she grabbed the oven mitts and pulled out the large baking pan. Caroline stood to get the plates but Klaus reached out his arm to stop her and told her that she handed out the coffee and he would help her mother. She narrowed her eyes but sat back down. He smirked and Liz pointed to the correct cabinet. Klaus got enough plates and silverware for everyone as Liz was using the spatula to cut sections out of the casserole. They made everyone's plates before handing them out. Kol asked what it was and Caroline said to just trust her and eat it. With that explanation, Klaus didn't ask. Once Kol had a bite, he ate everything quickly before going back for seconds. Rebekah remembered the casserole and asked Liz to give her the directions to make it at the house, and Liz stood to give her a book saying that every one of their favorites were in that book. The girls started squealing around their food and ran to hug Liz. Liz beckoned the guys in and they couldn't say no. Kol kept kissing Liz's forehead and said he claimed her as a second mother. They all laughed at him, but Klaus was happy to rest an arm over Caroline. Liz had to tell them all to get off and she fanned her eyes to keep from tearing up at the happiness in the room. Caroline noticed and sat in her lap like she used to when she was a kid. Liz laughed and tickled her ribs like she used to causing Caroline to laugh and try to squirm away. When she got away Liz took a long look at Caroline to really see how much she had grown and how happy she was through everything she had been through.

Stefan showed up and apologized for being late. Liz just smiled and gave him a hug before giving him a plate. Stefan looked at the plate and then at Liz with a look that showed his love for both. He made sure to eat quickly since he was late before discussing the plans that he had come up with for them to do while the women went to get their girl time in. The guys were going to go out and look at tattoos. Klaus already had a couple, but he was willing to draw out something they may want. Stefan was eager for a second tattoo, and Kol wanted to get his first. Caroline and Rebekah listened as the guys talked about tattoo ideas and Liz watched the girls get interested in matching friend tattoos; she figured they would get one pretty soon and come back to show them off. The girls left shortly after that for their appointments and the guys locked up before they took off.

The girls spent the day at the spa before getting their hair and nails done. They talked about how things were the same and different being around each other now from when they were in high school. Liz watched her daughter laughing with Rebekah and her throughout the day and felt like Caroline would be able to stay happy like she was, but she still wanted to make sure there wasn't any more problems from Tyler. She knew Caroline was going to sing at the grill later and knew that it would either seal the door shut on him or make him come after her. When they had everything done, they went back to the house to change clothes and do each other's make-up.

The guys had been having fun at the tattoo parlor. Stefan had an idea for what he wanted and Klaus whipped up a quick sketch with the tattooist. Kol took his time looking at the displays full of designs before he found one and had Klaus change it up a bit. Once the drawings were done, Klaus handed them over to the tattoo artist so he could do the stencils for them. Stefan went before Kol so he would see how the process was done, but another artist opened up soon after the first one started, and took over Kol's. When both of them were finished getting tattooed, they all left to go to the grill. They arrived a little early and Damon spotted them. When Damon started walking their way, Klaus noticed that Elena was right behind him with a smile already put on her face. Bonnie came over to say hey to Kol, and Klaus made an excuse to get away from Elena; he even had to tell Damon to keep his girlfriend away from him. When Stefan and Klaus were finally given some peace from Damon and Elena, they went to sit at the bar and wait for Liz and the girls.

After Rebekah and Caroline had gotten ready, they both decided to dress Liz up and do her make-up too. When they arrived at the grill, they saw where everybody was and Rebekah went to get everyone so they could order. Stefan turned when he felt Rebekah touch his shoulder, but his jaw dropped and he did his best to get a compliment through a stutter. Klaus chuckled until he saw Caroline and then he coughed as he choked on his drink. Rebekah smirked at them both before turning and walking back to the table. The guys followed behind, stumbling a bit from looking at the girls. Klaus made sure to snag a seat next to Caroline so he could give her his own compliments so no one could hear before giving her a smile. She smiled and thanked him before placing her order. Most of the table froze when they saw Tyler walk in with a brunette that everyone assumed was Hayley. Klaus reached under the table to grab Caroline's hand in a soft squeeze for comfort before she looked at him with a nod before texting Matt and letting him know that Tyler had arrived. People had already been singing when the girls had shown up, so Matt quickly set Caroline up to sing soon. Liz noticed Caroline's change in behavior and quickly started a new subject for everyone to talk about and soon Tyler and Hayley were doing little stunts to draw attention; Tyler only got madder when he saw Caroline laughing with her friends instead of sulking over him. Then he was really surprised when her name was called and her friends and mother cheered. Caroline stood and walked proudly up to the stage. The table gave Tyler a look before turning to hear Caroline sing.

_"Okay so this song is a little different than what I usually like to sing with, but it fits in a lot of ways." _She said as she signaled Matt to let the music start.

**"It's true… we're all a little… insane. But it's so clear…now that I'm… unchained." **She sang and looked to Tyler with a smirk. **"Fear is only in our minds… taking over all the time. Fear is only in our minds… but it's taking over all the time." **She continued and looked around the room. **"You poor, sweet innocent thing dry your eyes, and testify. You know you live to break me, don't deny… sweet sacrifice." **She sang and took the microphone from its holder for the next part to move around. **"One day… I'm gonna forget… your name. And one, sweet day… you're gonna drown in my lost pain." **She sang looking at Tyler and smiling before turning her back to take a few steps and look to her friends. **"Fear is only in our minds… taking over all the time. Fear is only in our minds, but's it's taking over all the time." **She continued before catching a breath for the part coming up. **"You poor, sweet innocent thing, dry your eyes… and testify. And oh… you… love to hate me, don't ya honey. I'm your sacrifice." **She held the note as long as she had practiced and caught her breath so she could finish the song. **"Do you wonder… why you hate? Are you still too weak to survive your mistakes? You poor, sweet innocent thing, dry your eyes… and testify. You know… you… live to break me, don't deny… sweet sacrifice." **She finished and everybody cheered as she hopped off the stage and walked back towards her table and ignoring Tyler. She knew she would piss him off, but she was letting him know she wasn't afraid of him anymore. Klaus watched Caroline walk back and stood up to let her back in her spot before letting her know he thought she was great and that Tyler was looking like he's ready to pounce so she needed to stay where everyone could see her.

After everyone ate, Kol led Bonnie to the dance floor and they all cheered. Then Stefan decided to make his move and give Rebekah the necklace he had bought her. Liz and Caroline had made little cooing sounds towards them. Klaus looked to Liz before asking Caroline for a dance. Caroline took his hand and rolled her eyes as she stood. Liz decided to grab a drink, but one of the deputies she worked with asked for a dance and she agreed. Caroline was surprised that Klaus really did know how to dance. She noticed they moved together smoothly and laughed.

_"What are you laughing about love?"_

_"It's nothing. I just noticed that you actually can dance. Our steps are in sync with each other almost perfectly."_

_"I'll take that as a compliment love."_

_"Go ahead because once we get back home, our war resumes."_

_"I'm looking forward to it sweetheart." _He said as he spun her before dipping her and pulling her back up against his chest.

_"Where did you learn that?"_

_"We learned how to dance really early. Our parents were always hosting parties and balls that we had to attend. Where did you learn to dance love?"_

_"I've had training. I was Miss Mystic Falls."_

_"I knew that part love, but I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself tonight. Will you be singing any more tonight?"_

_"I don't know. I thought about having Rebekah sing with me for our friends. What do you think?"_

_"I like hearing you sing. Your voice is amazing, but I don't know about my sister so much. You two have different sounds and they could clash together."_

_"We've been singing together and found a few songs that we do great together."_

_"Well why don't you sing them for us love?" _He asked as he dipped her again and she laughed while grabbing on to his jacket sleeve.

_"I wasn't ready for another dip. You could have dropped me."_

_"I'm not going to drop you love; you're light as a feather. I carried you up a flight and a half of stairs if you remember correctly."_

_"Yes, you did. I do thank you for everything you've done. I'm just surprised you didn't start ignoring me."_

_"Now how could I ignore you love? I like you; and thanks for the warning about your friend. She looked positively shocked when Kol said his only interest here was Bonnie. I told her my interest was you."_

_"Why did you say that?"_

_"Because it's true. I do like you. I know you're not ready to get back out there yet; you want to enjoy being single. Just answer me one question; if you weren't determined to be single right now and you were better from what's happened, would you be interested in me in return?"_

_"Yes. You've been great. I don't want to lead you on or give you false hope either though. It's going to take a long time for me to be ready for that, and I'm not too keen on risking the friendship we've made or the one I have with Rebekah. I said I would be interested, but I don't know if I would act on it or not. You're a great guy; you shouldn't wait around when you could find someone else that you like more."_

_"I haven't seen anyone so far love."_

_"You might later; before I'm ready. If that happens, I want you to go for it."_

_"It's not going to happen that easily love. I can be patient when I want to be; and I want to be for this."_

_"You know we've danced for over the 2 songs you asked for, right?"_

_"Are you complaining love?"_

_"Not at all."_

_"I'll take what I can get for now love."_

_"Why are you interested?"_

_"Why wouldn't I be? You're smart, strong, beautiful, caring, loyal, and just a ray of light; even in the darkest times you shine love."_

_"Okay that's a lot. You know you just named off a lot of your qualities too right?"_

_"Like what?"_

_"Well you're strong, smart, caring, and loyal. You helped me get through the last couple weeks and you barely knew anything about me; other than what Rebekah told you. And I'll admit that you're handsome." _She said and pursed her lips.

_"Was that so hard to admit?"_

_"A little. You know Rebekah's trying to get us together?"_

_"Well so is Stefan and your mother likes me." _He said with a smirk. _"I showed her your birthday presents that is from me."_

_"How many did you get?"_

_"A few, but some you will get when the party is over and I can show you away from other people. It's not dirty I promise; I just don't know how you'll react when you see them."_

_"You didn't have to buy me something."_

_"I only bought one thing. The rest of the presents I made."_

_"Did you draw me something?"_

_"Yes, but I'm not telling you what. I also painted a couple things so you could hang them in your room."_

_"Thank you. I'm sure they'll be great."_

_"Don't thank me yet love; you haven't seen them yet." _He said as the song changed to a fast paced one. He gave her a smirk before spinning her around and pulling her back against his chest. _"I seem to recall a similar situation with us love."_

_"Do you really want to see who would back down first? I really don't think you want to challenge me on this kind of dancing." _She remarked as he spun her again and she ended up facing him again. He gave her a smirk and she threw one back at him and unleashed her dancing on him. Klaus figured it would have been a bad idea to taunt her, but he wasn't going to back down. He made sure they danced through the next song before they took a break to go sit with her mom when she sat down. Stefan and Rebekah followed them to the table smiling like crazy.

_"Is everyone about ready to go? You all have to get up early and I have to go back to work when you guys leave." _Liz asked with a yawn. Caroline looked to Rebekah and asked her if she wanted to sing a song real quick, but she was more interested in Stefan than singing. They all decided it was time to head back to the house. Everybody waited while Stefan said goodbye to Damon, and the girls said goodbye to Bonnie and Elena before dragging Kol back with them. They were about to make it to the group when Tyler and Hayley cut them off.

_"You think you're funny Caroline?"_

_"No, I think I'm done with you." _She said as they all tried to walk around them, but Tyler grabbed Caroline's arm and squeezed. Klaus noticed and walked over. When he got there, he grabbed Tyler's wrist using all of his muscle and made Tyler drop to the floor in pain.

_"Don't you ever lay a hand on her or look at her the wrong way again. You left her after cheating on her and hurting her. You are going to leave her alone or the next time, I'll make you feel everything you've ever done to her." _He said as he released his wrist and held his hand out to Caroline. She took it and they tried to walk away, but Tyler stopped them again.

_"She's a lying bitch. I never touched her."_

_"You're the liar Tyler. I was behind the building you pushed her into repeatedly. I have a picture of the damage you did to her that night and we have all of her medical records. I don't care if you're the mayor's son. Guess what, my family lives in D.C. and are a bit higher up than your mother. Just try me." _He smirked and looked at the fear in Tyler's eyes. _"That's what I thought. You're nothing but a coward that goes after people smaller than you. She's done being your punching bag. And you…" _He said looking at Hayley. _"I'm assuming you knew he had a girlfriend when you slept with him. That makes you a slut. Did you know that he beat her? It's only a matter of time until he starts with you. And you better hope you don't get pregnant. You might get pushed down some stairs too so he doesn't have to face responsibility." _Klaus finished and pushed Tyler away. He had spoken quietly so only the 4 of them had heard, but everyone was staring at the sight. Klaus held out his arm for Caroline and she slid her hand through it as they turned and went to her mother. Caroline looked at her mom, and she saw her nod to her. She knew this wasn't going to go over well with her. When they were outside, Tyler's mom came running up to find out what was going on. Liz told Carol about what happened and Carol tried to intimidate Klaus until he fired off about his parents. Then he walked forward and told her that as long as Tyler kept his hands off Caroline there wouldn't be a problem. Liz told her she was going to have a talk with her later and they all left. When they got back to Liz's house, everyone but Liz, Caroline, and Klaus went to bed. They all went to sit on the couch and Liz offered them a shot of whiskey to calm their nerves.

_"Thank you for helping Caroline tonight Klaus. I won't forget it."_

_"It wasn't much."_

_"You also stood up to Carol. You've got more pull than I do because of your family, so I guess it's good she knows you all for this. It kept you out of trouble too. Caroline, in all fairness, you can press minor assault charges; your arm is going to bruise."_

_"I'll be fine mom. It doesn't even hurt now."_

_"I'm not as blind as you think honey. I know that since you began dating him, I've had to take you to or pick you up from the hospital a lot. You may be clumsy, but you're not that clumsy. You should have told me what was going on and don't try and deny it now. I pulled your medical records for the past couple years, so I know how far this goes."_

_"I'm sorry mom, but it was wanted to help him. I realize that I couldn't have helped him now."_

_"He's like his father. His father hit him and Carol all the time. One of these days, he's going to go to jail or prison because he'll eventually get caught. Carol won't be mayor after this year either. She was only standing in until a new mayor could get elected. Bonnie's dad is going to be the new mayor."_

_"That's great. I was worried about your job too."_

_"Caroline, if I had to pick between keeping my job or protecting you, I would have picked you; I still would."_

_"I know."_

_"Now, you two need to have a talk. Sweetie, I understand perfectly that you want to just be with yourself for a while. However, I've figured out that he's a nice young man and I approve of him ahead of time."_

_"Mom I can make my own decisions."_

_"I know you can. Take time if you need it; I don't see him going anywhere while you do. Do you see yourself going anywhere else Klaus?"_

_"It's not likely; I'm not easily impressed or get interested often. We talked earlier about that anyway ma'am."_

_"Please call me Liz. Ma'am makes me feel old and everyone calls me Liz or mom. You can choose either, but I'll leave it up to you. Now, I'm going to bed. You two talk and then I expect to wake up and see you in separate rooms."_

_"Not a problem Liz." _Klaus replied before Caroline started another rant. Then he turned to Caroline and pulled her onto his chest and wrapped an arm around her. _"Take all the time you need love."_

_"Thank you for stopping him earlier. He's never done that in public before."_

_"He was desperate. We all ignored him, except when you sang to show him you were done, and then you and I danced for almost the rest of the night. He saw that you weren't bothered by his little stunt of showing up and bringing Hayley. It pissed him off that he couldn't get the reaction he wanted from you."_

_"I knew it was a possibility that me singing that song could do. I was hoping he would just take the hint and leave me alone, but I guess he couldn't."_

_"I could have easily broken his wrist, but I didn't know how you would have taken it. I didn't mean to snap and him or Hayley, but he grabbed your arm and I acted."_

_"It's alright. You didn't hurt anything but his pride. Thank you again." _She said as she leaned up and kissed his cheek. He wrapped his arm a little tighter around her in a hug so she wouldn't pull away and kissed the side of her head before rubbing her cheek. _"I need to go to bed. I have to sit between you and Kol on the way back, so I better be at 100% to banter with you both until we get back."_

_"Sure love." _He said with a chuckle and loosened his arm so he could kiss her forehead before letting her stand up. _"Goodnight Caroline."_

_"Goodnight Klaus." _She said back and walked towards her room. When she got there, Rebekah was still awake and waiting to talk to her. They talked for a little bit about Stefan and Rebekah getting together and what had occurred that night. The next morning, conversations were cut short when Liz got called in to work early, so everyone gathered their things and decided to go ahead and head back to their house. When they arrived back at the house they all went about tidying up the place and making something to eat from the cookbook that Liz had given them. They all sat down and ate before spreading out to finish their day before school the next. Caroline and Rebekah grew more nervous about Wednesday as Monday and Tuesday passed.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Girls Have Gone Wild**

On Wednesday, the girls made sure to leave at the same time and not be seen by the guys as they left for their first day at the bar. They showed up and the manager showed them around and explained what they were supposed to do before going over and setting them up with how much they had to sing and when. It was expected to be a somewhat slow night because it was Wednesday, but the manager told them that it would only pick up as the days passed and to be ready. They nodded enthusiastically before they clocked in and started making their rounds. Caroline had made sure to include a song for her friends on her playlist and she expected to be able to sing it shortly after they would arrive. When she noticed the guys walk into the bar, she was excited that they sat in her section and walked over to get their order.

_"Hey guys. Are you ordering?"_

_"Yeah; get us all a round of bourbon." _Klaus answered for the group and looked at her with a smile until Stefan tapped his arm.

_"Is that Bekah? What's she doing here?"_

_"She wanted to work here and she didn't say anything because she wanted to surprise you guys." _Caroline explained before going and getting their drinks. Klaus became aggravated as he saw his sister walking around taking orders in the uniform before walking up on the stage. Caroline brought the guys' drinks out. _"She's up for her turn. You guys made it just in time."_

_"What the bloody hell is she thinking? How did you talk her into this?" _Klaus asked irritably.

_"I didn't talk her into it. She came with me when I interviewed and put in an application. They interviewed her after me."_

_"Oh come now Caroline, you want me to believe that you two didn't plot this together? Why would you talk her into this? And don't bother lying again."_

_"I didn't, but since you're bound and determined to not believe me, then you won't believe that I tried to talk her out of it. Let me know if or when you all want refills." _She said as she dropped her head and walked away.

_"You just blew it man. Rebekah said she had a surprise for us, but wouldn't say what. Why don't you ask your sister about it?" _Stefan said as he placed his drink on the table and went to say hi to Rebekah.

_"Nik…"_

_"Leave me alone Kol."_

_"Look at Caroline."_

_"I don't want to right now Kol. I'm thinking of a way to get our dear sister out of this." _He stated as he watched Stefan talk to Rebekah.

_"She looks like she's barely keeping herself together Nik…"_

_"Well maybe she should have thought of that when she talked Bekah into this. It's bad enough that she got a job here, but she didn't have to drag Rebekah into it." _He explained as he saw Stefan and Rebekah making their way over to his table.

_"What did you say to Caroline Nik?"_

_"I simply said she shouldn't have talked you into this."_

_"She didn't; she tried to get me to change my mind."_

_"Like I'm going to believe that dear sister. What were you thinking you two thinking?"_

_"WE weren't thinking anything. I was thinking that I wanted a job since I haven't had one before and that I wanted to work with Caroline. She begged me not to work here, but I wouldn't listen to her." _She said as she looked around for her friend. _"I'll be back in a minute. I'm going to go find her and check on her." _She said and gave a glare to her brother. Klaus thought about what his sister had just said for a minute and thought that maybe they had been telling the truth. He saw Rebekah come out of the bathroom shaking her head and sent a glare in his direction. Stefan picked up his drink and walked to Rebekah's section while shaking his head at Klaus.

_"Nik I don't think Caroline talked her into it. You do realize this puts you back to square one with her, right? Good luck getting through to her now when you just snapped at her and accused her of lying to you."_

_"Maybe she wasn't, but why would she cover for Rebekah?"_

_"Because you know how Bekah loves surprises. And I just saw you crush Caroline when you didn't believe her." _He finished as Caroline walked back out of the bathroom. Klaus could see her eyes red, but he didn't say anything. If she was telling the truth he would have to apologize and she was avoiding the table. He quickly drank their drinks so she would have to come over to refill them. When she saw their glasses empty, she went and got their refills, replacing their empty glasses with new ones and walking away without looking at him or talking. He noticed her hands were shaking slightly at their table, but she pushed it down and put on a fake smile for the next table. When she handed over the empty glasses, the band gave her a signal to come to the stage. She walked over feeling less excited for the song she was about to sing; she made sure to keep her eyes away from Klaus and more towards Rebekah and Stefan when she started singing. With every line, she felt like she was sinking into herself, but she pressed on until she was finished. When she was done, she walked to the side and talked to the manager about changing her playlist and he allowed it. She went and changed the songs for the night before making her rounds refilling drinks.

Klaus was feeling pretty bad by the time Caroline had walked off the stage. She had told him that she was going to be singing differently that night, but he saw her go and talk to the band. He guessed she was changing things around by then. Their table was the last table she went to refilling drinks and Klaus tried to get her attention.

_"Caroline I'm sorry that I argued with you…"_

_"I'm working. I don't have time to bother people." _She said as she looked him in the eye and walked away. He looked over at his brother for some advice.

_"Don't look at me like that Nik. I can't help you on this one." _Kol said when Klaus had turned to him.

_"Think about what you said to her Nik." _Kol offered and went to join Stefan in Rebekah's section. Klaus went to sit closer to the stage and bar, but remained in Caroline's section. She didn't come back to him unless he signaled for a refill, but she wouldn't even acknowledge him when she did. When she would get back up on stage, Klaus heard the change in her songs immediately. The only time she sang a positive song was when she and Rebekah took the stage together, but she wore her fake smile for the crowd. When the night was over, Caroline walked over and told Kol to get Rebekah home and to make sure Klaus went with them; she wanted to be alone for a little while and was going to drive home by herself. She snuck out before Klaus could see her go and drove home to change clothes and grab her back-pack for school. She drove back to the campus and went to the library since it was open all day and night for students. She turned her phone on silent and sent a text to Rebekah that she wouldn't be home until after her classes before taking a seat and pulling out the next few assignments that would be due to work on.

Rebekah was about to leave the bar with Stefan and her brothers when she received the text from Caroline. She showed Stefan the message and he gave her a nod before holding his hand out to her to lead her to the bar for an after-shift drink. Klaus and Kol followed in time to hear the manager talk to Rebekah.

_"I just wanted to tell you what a good job you and Caroline did tonight, but she left before I could talk to her. I'm glad I decided to hire you after all; I was worried you wanted to work with your friend so much that you wouldn't actually work. You proved yourself tonight; keep up the good work. What got into Caroline earlier? She changed her song list after the first one."_

_"Oh, she just switched moods. She does better on songs that deal with pain or heartbreak anyway."_

_"She must know a lot about it because she got really into them."_

_"She knows more than you'd think. Thank you again for hiring me. I know I pretty much begged, but I just wanted to do something for myself and I knew working here with Caroline would be a bonus."_

_"You're welcome. Now, be prepared for more work tomorrow." _He said and walked off.

_"So you and Caroline weren't lying about who got you working here?"_

_"No we weren't. By the way, Caroline isn't coming home tonight; she texted and said she would stop by tomorrow after class to change."_

_"Where's she at?" _Klaus asked.

_"I don't know; she didn't say."_

_"She said she wanted to be alone for a while." _Stefan chimed in and looked at his glass.

_"So she's just going to disregard the fact that something could happen to her so she can disappear for a while?"_

_"I don't Nik. Maybe she didn't want to bother you." _Kol chimed in, getting aggravated. Did his brother really not understand what he had said to her?"

_"Nik… you didn't…" _Rebekah looked at him and tilted her head.

_"I didn't mean it like that. I told her not to bother lying when I thought she was."_

_"Great. We'll be lucky is she talks to any of us for a week or two, and even luckier if she doesn't move out." _Rebekah replied and grabbed Stefan's hand so they could leave. Kol silently followed them and Klaus ran a hand through his hair before downing his drink and walking out. Rebekah decided to drive since she had only had half of a shot and the house was only a couple blocks away. When they got home Rebekah tried calling Caroline, but she only answered long enough to say she was okay and she'd see her tomorrow at work. _"Stefan, do you think she's going to sleep tonight?"_

_"I doubt it. She'll be alright in a couple days."_

_"This is my fault. Everyone always assumes Caroline talks me into things, but it's usually the opposite."_

_"It isn't your fault. You both wanted to work and you got the same job. You can't help that your brother made incorrect assumptions and voiced them."_

_"How long do you think she'll want to be alone?"_

_"A couple days. As far as your brother goes… I don't know when she'll talk to him again. It might be a month or two. She was getting really close to him, so she's going to feel just as bad as she would if she had fought with you or me; probably worse."_

_"I know. God my brother is a bloody idiot."_

_"They'll make up eventually. He's just got to watch what he says to her. She only ever lies to keep someone from getting into trouble; like Damon or Tyler when they hurt her."_

_"I know, but she didn't say anything so I could surprise you all. Her birthday is coming up; will you help me plan it?"_

_"Sure Bekah. What did you have in mind?"_

_"She just wants something small, so I figured I would invite her mom here and it just be us."_

_"She'd like that. I'll call Liz tomorrow and invite her. Her birthday is on a Monday this year, so I know you're both off work. Do we just want to wait until we go to her mom's for the weekend?"_

_"That's waiting nearly a week to do the party and we work the Saturday before it."_

_"You're right, but Liz might not be able to come if we don't wait."_

_"You're right. We'll wait until we go to visit."_

_"Okay well then I'll tell Liz the plan. We'll do it at her house when we see her again." _Stefan finished and they went to their separate rooms. Klaus had been listening to their conversation while Kol had gone straight to his room. Klaus stepped outside and called Caroline, but she didn't answer. He decided to send her a text so she would at least read it.

**Caroline I really am sorry that I accused you of lying to me. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. I know you want to be alone right now, so just be careful. If you need anything give me a call.**

He sent the message and waited a few minutes for any kind of reply, but he didn't get one. He went back inside and went to his room. He decided to draw some more to add to the album for Caroline's birthday. He had a harder time drawing her that time because of how he knew she was feeling because of him. He ended up working all night on the drawings before going to school. He saw Caroline's car in the parking lot, but he didn't see her anywhere. He figured he would see her sometime during the morning, but he didn't. When he got out of his last class, he walked around a few minutes before deciding to go wait by her car, but it was gone when he got to the lot. So, he decided to head home and see if she was there. When he got there, he saw her car, but she was in the shower. When she got out, she went straight to her room to change and leave for work. Klaus tried to talk to her, but she just walked by him like he wasn't there. Rebekah and Stefan noticed, but didn't say anything to either of them. Rebekah gave Stefan a quick kiss before running after Caroline to go to work with her. Stefan walked over to Klaus so they could leave in Stefan's SUV to the bar. Kol had decided to stay in and Skype with Bonnie and told them he'd see them later.


	8. Chapter 8

**Birthday and Party**

Caroline had remained silent with everyone except for the day that marked the death of the siblings' brother. She didn't talk then either, but she hung begs on their doors with matching gifts for them before heading to work. The siblings had found the gifts afterwards and noticed the thought she had put into them. She kept avoiding everybody after giving them the gifts, but when she saw them she would keep up with small talk until she could get away. When her birthday came up on her, she locked herself in her room until night. She snuck out because she thought everyone was sleeping to get something to eat from the kitchen. When she walked in she froze at the sight of Klaus standing there. She tried to turn around and walk back, but he stopped her.

_"Caroline just wait."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I want to talk to you."_

_"You have talked to me."_

_"I also wanted to give you some of your birthday presents; at least the ones I made."_

_"Fine." _She said as she opened the fridge and pulled out the stuff to make a sandwich and Klaus went to his room to get the album and paintings. She was putting stuff up when he got back and he noticed she had lost some weight from working and not eating as much because she had been avoiding everyone. He came in the room and set them down on the island next to her. He pulled up a couple stools so he could sit with her while she opened them and she looked at the stools before sitting slowly; she also made sure they didn't bump into each other. He pulled the album off the top and slid the painting towards her. When she looked at each one, she had a difficult time smiling and holding back tears since she noticed they were her favorites from Klaus; she knew he must have been watching her in class. Then he handed her the album and she opened it before looking at him confused. She turned back and flipped through the pages and her mouth parted the further she got into the book. When she was done she quickly said a thank you and dumped her barely eaten sandwich in the trash and washing her plate off. Then she gathered up her gifts and ran upstairs to her room. Klaus watched her go and waited until he thought she would let him in before going after her and knocking. It took her a moment to open the door, but when she did, she barely cracked it to look through.

_"Do you need help hanging the paintings love?"_

_"No, I'm going to wait until tomorrow so I don't wake anybody up."_

_"Are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine. Goodnight Klaus." _She said as she closed the door back. Klaus didn't want to push her, but he saw that she was hiding that she had cried. He reached down and quietly checked her door knob to see if it was locked before opening it and walking in. _"What are you doing?" _She asked tiredly.

_"You didn't even let me tell you happy birthday love and you're not fine._

_"Well you told me, and I am fine. I'm tired and I'm going to bed."_

_"Please talk to me love."_

_"About what?"_

_"I'm sorry okay? I don't know what else I can do to make up for what I said."_

_"I know you're sorry, but I learned from it."_

_"And what did you learn?"_

_"You don't trust me. If you did, you would have believed me. To even be a friend, you have to have trust. Now I'm going to bed. Goodnight Klaus." _She explained and walked to the door to hold it open until he left. He walked over and paused in the doorway before turning and getting right in her face.

_"I do trust you love, but you are going to have to talk to everybody again. We're all worried that you're going to try to move out."_

_"I'm not moving out. I have my share of the bills on the dresser if you want that now." _She said as she walked over and got it for him. She brought it over and he tried to wave it off, but she pushed it in his pocket and went to hold the door again. She looked at the wall beyond him while she waited and bit her lip. Klaus decided that words weren't enough and took the door away from her to close it. Then he cornered her against the wall and reach to hold her cheeks as he lowered his lips to hers. She tried to pull his hands down, but she couldn't. When she felt him press against her, her mouth parted as she shivered and he deepened the kiss. When she managed to break away, she had tears leaking out. _"Please just stop. I can't do this." _She whispered pleadingly. He rubbed her cheeks before kissing her forehead.

_"I'm not giving up, so don't push me away. You can still take the time you need; I'll be here. Just don't say you feel nothing when I could tell differently. Happy Birthday Caroline. Goodnight." _He said as he moved back from her and left her room. When he was out of the way, Caroline closed the door and locked it before backing up to her bed and falling down to it. She sat there breathing heavy and tearing before touching her mouth. She closed her eyes and covered her face to try and push him out of her head, but it didn't work and she threw herself down on her pillow. When she couldn't sleep she rolled over and picked up the album to look through it again. She couldn't believe he had spent that much time on it for her; she wanted to know how long he had worked on it. She tried to push down all her curiosity about the album, but she couldn't and she grabbed the album again and got up to go see him. She didn't think of knocking before opening his door and shutting it behind her. Klaus was in his bed with the side lamp on drawing. She almost stopped when she noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and she didn't know how he slept, but she moved over to sit on the other side of his bed before talking.

_"How long did you work on this?" _She asked as she held up the book of drawings.

_"I started it the night Tyler broke up with you. I was only going to draw a couple to make you feel better, but I got carried away and decided to do more and make it a birthday present."_

_"How did you manage to do all of these in that amount of time?"_

_"Well I didn't sleep some nights, but I also draw quickly love."_

_"And the paintings… how did you know they were my favorites? You're the only one in that class with me and I never told you or anyone that I liked them."_

_"I could see it on your face. The ones you focused on the most, I remembered so I could do them for you myself. I have another one I'm working on that's from my head. You'll get it when we have your party."_

_"You've already given me a lot."_

_"I didn't know what you'd accept. Stefan said not to buy you anything, but I already had when he told me. So, I showed him and your mother the album when I was working on it. They said you would like that."_

_"I love it; I do. It's just confusing. Some of the pictures you did were when I thought no one was around; there's even one sleeping at moms."_

_"She let me in your room to snap a couple pictures so I could draw them."_

_"And the others?"_

_"There from me going to talk to you and seeing you lost in thought. I don't like to interrupt you when you're thinking like that."_

_"Thank you again."_

_"You're welcome love. Is that all you wanted to ask?" _He asked, hoping she would stay and keep talking to her. _"I've missed you talking to me love. You could stay a little while."_

_"I have to get up early."_

_"You barely ate nay of your sandwich and you didn't eat anything else today. Will you stay long enough to eat if I make something for you? I'll just heat up leftovers."_

_"I guess. I don't know how much I'll hold down though."_

_"Did I have that much of an effect on you love?"_

_"There you go being cocky again."_

_"Couldn't resist love." _He said as he stood to run to the kitchen. Caroline looked away when she realized he only wore boxers to bed. He chuckled and went to heat up the food. When it was done, he stopped and grabbed a soda to drink with it and went back to his room. She was still in the same spot as before when he entered the room and shut the door. She put the album down when he handed her the plate and soda. She scooted up in the bed so she could sit the soda down on his desk. Klaus crawled back under the covers and picked up his sketchbook.

_"What are you drawing?"_

_"You, but you can't see it. I'm starting your Christmas present love." _He said and pulled it out of sight and reach when she leaned forward to peek at it. She set the food down and tried to reach for the book. She ended up falling in his lap and he tickled her until he could put the book up in the nightstand. She pushed out of his lap and gave him a look before getting out of the bed and trying to get in the nightstand. Klaus saw what she was doing and got up to stand in front of the drawer. She stumbled a bit when she tried to stop and Klaus stepped forward to steady her.

_"That's not fair. If you're drawing me I want to see it."_

_"No love, you have to wait. Just be patient."_

_"What am I doing in the drawing?"_

_"Opening your presents."_

_"I can imagine how that will look. Uh, I'm in my pajamas and my hair is crazy."_

_"You look as beautiful as always love." _He said as he released her side and rubbed her cheek. Caroline noticed how close they were and looked to the side. Klaus let his hand fall down to her shoulder and gently pull her to him. He wrapped his arms around her and she hesitated before laying her hands on his back to return the hug. _"I really did miss you." _He said in her ear before kissing her cheek. She broke out in goosebumps and shivered. Klaus noticed, but he didn't move from his spot. He felt her breathing pick up a little as he kept still except his thumbs rubbing the tops of her shoulders and them swaying in the hug. _"You still need to eat love. Just get in the bed and eat before you run off again." _He said as he released her. She nodded and crawled over to the other side and pulled one knee up to her chest. She started pushing the food around with her fork before taking any bites. Klaus crawled over to her and lifted her long enough the get the cover out from under her to put it over them both since she had put her leg down.

_"What is it with you and picking me up?"_

_"I was just getting the cover love."_

_"I know. I'm picking on you. Don't you think it's a little awkward to try and get me under the covers with you?"_

_"If I had my way love, you'd be under the covers with me all night."_

_"Seriously?"_

_"Just for sleep love. I have to get you to go out with me before I can tempt you into that."_

_"You've already tried tempting me."_

_"Yes and I'd say I was the one that had to pay for that."_

_"How so?"_

_"Did you not notice the effect you had on me that night? It was obvious sweetheart."_

_"So I won that round?"_

_"Yes, you most certainly did because I didn't see you having to go fix a problem that could have been seen."_

_"I'm sorry." _She said as she covered her mouth. He looked at her like she had to be kidding, but chuckled. _"I'll keep that in mind the next time you start on me." _She said as she finished her food and set the plate down. Then she got a mischievous look on her face and turned to him.

_"What?"_

_"I'm debating telling you something. I don't want to cause a certain problem to come back."_

_"What is it?"_

_"You see, men's problems are easy to spot, but not women's. Now just consider this… if I had a problem, would I have to go to the bathroom when I have a bedroom?" _She explained with a smirk before beginning to lean away again. Klaus thought about it for a second before reaching around her to push her down on the bed and hovering over her.

_"That was very cruel love. So, will you answer me this; did you go fix a problem or are you just trying to tease me?"_

_"I'm not telling you that." _She said as she tried to push him off while giggling. When he reached down and tickled her side, she arched her back into him and he ground against her. _"Looks like you got a problem again."_

_"Yes, but do you?" _He asked with a smirk. She looked to the side before looking back and shaking her head. He leaned closer to her so he could run his face against her jaw and whisper in her ear. When he began to ask he made sure to push against her again. _"How about now?"_

_"Just a little bit." _She whispered back.

_"Only a little bit? I don't think that's accurate." _He whispered as he started peppering kisses from her ear, running along her jaw, to the side of her mouth before hovering over her lips. _"Now?"_

_"Okay it's more than a little, but you have to stop." _She whispered against his lips.

_"I planned on it love. I'm merely putting you in the same position that you have me in before you go to bed."_

_"And you call me cruel?"_

_"I told you that I wasn't going to get you in bed until after you start dating me love."_

_"I guess you win this round." _She whispered looking up at him before moving her head up to his ear, which pushed her body against his. _"But I'm still winning the war." _She finished and pushed his shoulder so she could scoot out from under him.

_"It's not always about winning love. But do tell me how this war ends." _He said as he prevented her escape from the bed.

_"When one of us accepts defeat."_

_"I'm quite enjoying the spoils of war, so I'm not giving up."_

_"I've not lost one yet." _She warned playfully as she grabbed her plate, soda, and album to stand. Het let her up that time and she went to the door. _"Goodnight Klaus."_

_"Goodnight love. Happy Birthday."_

_"Look at the clock Klaus. My birthday ended a couple minutes ago."_

_"Well until you have your party this weekend, I can still say it love."_

_"You just don't give up." _She said playfully as she looked back to him before giving him a nod and shutting the door. When she had the door closed, she let out a breath and went to wash her plate quickly. She finished her soda and ran up to her room. She didn't get much sleep that night as she laid there staring at the ceiling. The next day she went back to talking to everybody, but she started it off slowly. She told Rebekah about the night before and let her look at the drawings Klaus had done for her. Rebekah was more than surprised that Caroline hadn't given in to her brother, but she figured she would soon. Later that night, Rebekah repeated everything to Stefan to get some help pushing them together. The rest of the week, everything went back to normal and by the time the weekend came, Caroline was ready to visit home. That Saturday, everybody threw Caroline's birthday party and Liz ordered an ice cream cake. Everybody dug into the cake and was on a sugar rush by the time it came to open presents. Caroline started off with the present from Liz; she got a camera and a sketchpad.

_"I created a Facebook page so I can see more pictures of you guys. Just add me and take tons of pictures so I can see how you're doing when we don't get to talk. The sketchpad is so you can design some more clothes or draw whatever you want." _Liz offered and Caroline hugged her.

_"It will probably be just clothes. Everything else is still a little tricky." _She explained and picked up the next gift. She saw that it was from Rebekah and gave her a nervous look.

_"Just open it. I wouldn't get you anything embarrassing to open; especially in front of Liz." _She explained and Caroline opened the bag. She reached in and saw a dress, so she pulled it out slowly by the straps. She pulled it out completely and stood. She held it up to her and gave Rebekah another nervous look. _"One of these nights, we're going out. We're always at work or school and I want a girls night."_

_"Um Rebekah… I like it, but don't you think it's a little… revealing?"_

_"That's the point Care. You can try it on later. Keep going." _She pointed out and grabbed the dress from her and put it back in the bag.

_"Mine next!" _Kol exclaimed and tossed a gift box to her.

_"Kol, if I was ever afraid of a present, I'm afraid of yours." _She said playfully and opened it like she would a bomb. The guys were laughing as Klaus and Stefan were curious as to what Kol got her. Nobody knew what Kol had got. She lifted the lid and brought it back down quickly. _"It's a book series, but I'm not showing it off."_

_"Oh come on! It's not that raunchy."_

_"It's the 50 shades trilogy Kol. It IS that raunchy." _She said with a laugh and everybody started laughing except Liz.

_"Caroline… what's the books about?" _Liz asked curiously.

_"They're about this girl that gets caught up with a guy that is into a lot of kinky things."_

_"Oh it's that kind of book."_

_"Yeah."_

_"I guess I'll look forward to my birthday." _Liz mused out loud.

_"Mom! I'll let you read them, but be afraid when your birthday comes around." _She said as other gifts were thrown her way. She saw that Stefan had thrown Elena and Bonnie's gifts to her; they hadn't been able to make it that weekend. She opened Bonnie's first and saw that Bonnie had made a new set of friendships bracelets and had sent one for Rebekah and Liz as well. She handed them each their bracelet before reaching into the bag from Elena. When she realized what Elena had given her, she pushed it back down in the bag. _"I'm not pulling that one out either."_

_"What did she get you?" _Rebekah asked and peeked into the bag. _"Oh, well that explains why you wouldn't pull it out of the bag."_

_"What is it?" _Liz asked and tried to reach for the bag.

_"It's nightwear mom. It's just nightwear I won't be using for a long time."_

_"Well you never know. I guess she's thinking ahead."_

_"I'm not having this conversation right now." _Caroline said and covered her face before reaching for another gift. She saw that it was from Klaus and gave him a look. She opened up the little box and smiled. She pulled the necklaces out and showed them to her mom.

_"Let me help ladies." _He said and reached for the necklaces. Caroline handed them over and Klaus walked around to put them on them. He started with Liz and gave her a smile. Then he went to Caroline and she lifted her hair up out of the way. When he was done, nudged her hand to let her know she could put her hair down and went back to his seat. She gave him a smile before looking over to her mom to see her fiddling with it. Caroline reached over for the last 2 presents and saw they were from Stefan and Damon. She laid Damon's present to the side and opened Stefan's. She saw shoes and squeaked.

_"When I saw the dress that Bekah got you, I found shoes to match."_

_"But they go with a lot of my dresses. Thanks." _She replied and squinted her eyes at Damon's gift. She looked to Stefan for any indication of if it was safe or not. Stefan made a face to say he didn't know what it was and she regarded it like a bomb as much as Kol's. When she saw what it was she relaxed. She pulled out the little packs of hair different colored hair extensions. Liz rolled her eyes, but Caroline threw the pink to Rebekah. _"Here you go Bekah. Damon knows I won't dye my hair, so I guess this is his way of saying I need something new to show off college and work."_

_"You don't dye your hair?" _Kol asked and scratched his head.

_"No I never had to. I like being a blonde; everyone underestimates what I'm capable of when they assume I'm a dumb blonde." _She explained with an evil grin. _"I'll have to straighten my hair to wear these though."_

_"You could always curl the extension." _Rebekah offered.

_"Not these kind. These wouldn't live through the curler. I'll just straighten my hair when I want to wear them."_

_"I've not seen your hair straight since high school."_

_"I know. Most of the time it's too much hassle, so I leave it alone."_

_"I thought you curled your hair." _Kol offered.

_"Nope. I don't have to do that either." _She answered and started gathering everything together to take to her room before coming back and sitting with everyone. As they all kept talking, Caroline was doodling on a piece of notebook paper and Rebekah caught on to it.

_"What are you doodling at?" _Rebekah asked.

_"Just an idea for a birthday present to myself."_

_"What is it?"_

_"It's an idea for my first tattoo." _She said and everybody went to take a look. Liz looked at it and could tell she was having trouble drawing it out.

_"Klaus, why don't you help her draw it out?" _Liz asked him and it surprised Caroline.

_"I figured you would have tried to talk me out of it mom."_

_"I can't keep you little forever sweetie."_

_"When you get the doodle done, I'll work with it from there. Where are you thinking of putting it?"_

_"On my shoulder blade."_

_"How big do you want it?"_

_"Not very big. I don't like needles."_

_"How much more do you like?"_

_"You can probably finish it up. I've got the rough draft done." _She said and handed him the paper. He studied the paper while reaching into his bag for his sketchbook and pencil. While he started working on it, everyone but Caroline started moving out of the kitchen to go watch a movie. Caroline moved over to sit next to him and watch him draw. _"I wish I could draw anything no problem like that."_

_"I've been drawing since I was a kid."_

_"I have too, but all I manage to draw good are clothes."_

_"I could help you love; all you have to do is ask." _He offered and paused to look at her. She tilted her head to give him a look and he went back to drawing. _"Are you going to have colors or is it just going to be black or shaded?"_

_"Oh I want colors."_

_"I figured you might. Got any markers around here?"_

_"Of course I do." _She said and went to her room to grab a pack. She brought them back and picked out the colors she wanted before handing them over. When he was done, he tore it out of his book and handed it to her. She looked at it and smiled before giving him a hug.

_"Turn around and I'll draw it on you for a test run." _He offered and she turned. He moved the strap of her top over and grabbed a pen. When he had the outline done, he used the markers to color it in like on the paper and Liz walked in. She didn't say anything; just watched as he worked on her daughter. When he was done, Liz made her presence known. She smiled and told Caroline and Klaus that it looked good. Caroline stood and walked to the half bathroom to take a look. Klaus helped her keep her hair out of the way so she could see it.

_"I love it; it's perfect."_

_"When do you think you'll get it done?"_

_"I could go now and get it done or wait until we get back and go to a shop there."_

_"Will you let me go with you?"_

_"Sure. I think I'm going to wait until we go back."_

_"That's a good idea. You'll want this washed off before they tattoo it on there." _He said and released her hair. He walked out of the bathroom so she could walk out, and went to go help Liz with dinner preparations. When Caroline came out of the bathroom, she saw Klaus helping her mom and smiled.

_"You don't have to help Klaus. I can help her and you can watch TV with everyone else if you want."_

_"I like helping your mother. She puts up with all of us when we come; the least I can do is help her along."_

_"I do not put up with all of you. I enjoy having all of you and it's no trouble; including Kol." _Liz said with a laugh and Caroline hugged her. _"I always wanted a house full of kids, but I didn't get that. I barely got Caroline far enough along to survive past delivery."_

_"Was she early?"_

_"Yes; I was 7 ½ months when she was born. I had complications and couldn't have any more after. She was strong though; it only took her 3 weeks before I brought her home. She was such a good baby too; she never cried unless she was hungry or wanted changed. She was just a happy baby; always smiling and laughing. I know I missed a lot when I started working again, but I still tried to be there as much as I could."_

_"Mom I know you had to work, but you still spoiled me rotten."_

_"It's hard to believe you're grown up still."_

_"I guess most moms feel that way." _She said with a small smile and hugged her mom before walking out to the living room.

_"I shouldn't have brought that up. I know I'm not supposed to know, but it's hard to forget that she nearly had that."_

_"She loves you. I wouldn't know anything about losing a child."_

_"I do. I had several miscarriages before I had Caroline. My mother had the same problem with me and my brother. Her father's side never had those problems, so she has a better chance than I did. I just hope the one she had is the only one she will ever go through."_

_"Does she know about you?"_

_"Yes. I told her when she asked why she couldn't have a brother or sister. I guess that's why she wouldn't agree with Tyler. She'll have to be careful when she does decide it's time; just in case."_

_"I can understand that."_

_"Have you had any progress with my daughter?"_

_"A little. I kissed her on her birthday, but she was still mad at me, so I think it will be a while before I try that again."_

_"What was she mad at you for?"_

_"On her first night at work, I noticed Bekah went to work with her. I wasn't too happy that Rebekah had started working and accused Caroline of talking her into it. When she said it was Rebekah's idea and she was just keeping quiet, I thought she lied. She wouldn't talk to me until her birthday and I apologized constantly."_

_"I know my daughter's pretty outgoing and does things unexpectedly, but she usually does them alone. Rebekah told me she wanted to work the last time you all were here and we were out getting our hair done. Caroline told her she didn't need to, but she said that she wanted to; whether she needed to or not. Now, I agree that I don't like them working in a bar, but they seem to like the job."_

_"They do like it. It's not as bad a place as I originally thought it would be. They mostly get college kids like us in there and the girls like getting to sing. Stefan, Kol, and I always go when they work to watch out for them, but they haven't had any problems yet, so we sit there and chat most of the night."_

_"That's good. How did she like the drawings?"_

_"She loved them and the paintings. It made her talk to me after I kissed her. I guess she was too curious to be mad."_

_"That sounds about right. I understand you like her, and I approve of you, but after what she went through with Tyler she's bound to be afraid of getting close to someone again."_

_"I figured she would be. She's putting up a pretty good fight with me."_

_"She will. Her father had to wait nearly 2 years before I let him take me out. She doesn't know about that, but it runs in her blood. You won't have to wait that long, but I'd say you got a couple more months before she even starts to give in."_

_"I still don't understand why you're helping me."_

_"You've been honest with me and you've been there for her. You've shown that you're who she needs to be with. Whether or not you get together and stay together, that will be between you two. Besides, you're the only one I ever really gave my approval for. Matt was a close one, but I knew he wouldn't last because of Elena; he never really got over her until after Caroline."_

_"I heard about that. I don't see why she's friends with that girl. I've met her once and I already can't stand her."_

_"She's not a bad kid; she's just used to being the big fish in a little pond." _Liz explained as she lowered everything into the oven and went to sit back down. Klaus checked around the corner to make sure everyone was still focused on the TV before he sat down with Liz.

_"I have a question. What do you think Caroline would like to do on a date? I was thinking about a dinner, but I'm a little lost on what to do after. She hasn't given me a lot of hints and I want to ask her out pretty soon."_

_"She's not used to actual dates beyond dinner and a movie, so change it up a bit. You seem to be good at dancing with her, so I would look for that."_

_"The school has a masquerade ball coming up; I was going to ask her to be my date to date too."_

_"Well for a first date, I would stick to dinner and something else."_

_"Does she like live theatre?"_

_"I don't think she's ever been. That's a good idea if you can get her to go."_

_"Thanks. I'll try my luck." _He said and pulled out his phone to start looking for a theatre and selections that would be close by. The closest one would be at least an hour away, but it had a good restaurant close by. He smiled and showed the place to Liz and she gave him a nod. When he put his phone up, they finished up dinner and called everybody in to eat. The rest of the weekend passed by pretty uneventful until everybody got home and resumed their routines to get ready for the week.


	9. Chapter 9

**Opportunities**

A week after they got back, Caroline went to her room after work and flung herself in bed before changing. Klaus followed her up and knocked on her door. The masquerade ball was coming up in a couple days and he wanted to ask her. He came up with a plan to get a date with her after it, and he decided to make the move. She hollered at him to come in and he saw her stretched across the bed sideways.

_"Tired love?"_

_"I'm exhausted. I'm glad I have a couple days off because tonight was crazy."_

_"Well I will let you rest in just a minute. I want to ask you something."_

_"What?"_

_"Well the school is having the masquerade ball Monday and I want you to go with me. So, will you do me the honor of being my date that evening?"_

_"You best be glad I don't have work that night. How long do we have to stay?"_

_"As long as you like sweetheart."_

_"I wasn't planning on going."_

_"I know love, and if you had said no, I wouldn't have attended either."_

_"I guess that means I better go shopping tomorrow."_

_"Yes and you can tell me color the dress will be so I can match my suit with you. I have a couple other questions as well love."_

_"I'm listening."_

_"When were you thinking about getting your tattoo done?"_

_"Soon."_

_"I found a good shop that I can take you to tomorrow if you like."_

_"I have to shop for a dress tomorrow."_

_"We can do both. I'll help you shop for a dress and then drive you to the shop and sit with you while you get the tattoo done."_

_"You're incorrigible. Fine; we'll shop and get my tattoo done tomorrow. Any other questions?"_

_"Just one more. If you like being my date at the ball, maybe I could convince you to go on an actual date with me."_

_"When?"_

_"When we don't have class, you don't have work, and we aren't visiting your mother."_

_"You do realize that leaves next Sunday night or Monday evening after your class; oh, and Tuesday after class."_

_"Yes, I realize that, but I already have it all planned out. You just have to agree and we have to pick a day so I can make the arrangements."_

_"What do you have in mind?"_

_"Well that will be a surprise love, but you will have to dress up."_

_"If I say yes, it doesn't mean I'm giving in."_

_"Maybe not immediately, but it'll give me a start love." _He replied and ran his fingers over her stomach. _"You never know love; you could change your mind by the end of the evening."_

_"Uh you just don't give up." _She said and sat up next to him to give a tired glare.

_"Not giving up love, but I will let you get some rest; I know you're tired."_

_"Yea and my back is killing me. I'm going to invest in one of those massage chairs or something."_

_"I could rub your back for you."_ He said as he moved to sit behind her, but she stopped him.

_"I don't want your shoes on my bed. Let me change and I'll let you rub my back. Go change yourself so you're comfortable." _She said as she pushed him to the door. Klaus ran downstairs and change into some pajama pants, but kept his shirt on. Caroline changed into her pajama shorts and a tank top with a built in bra. When Klaus came back in her room, he nearly froze but kept walking to the bed.

_"Lay down on your stomach love. Do you just want a back rub?"_

_"Only my back is hurting, so yeah." _She replied and rolled to her stomach.

_"I have to sit on you love, but I won't keep my weight on you." _He warned as he straddled her upper thighs and she tried to ignore the feeling she got from him. She felt him gather her shirt up to where it was only around where her bra would be if she had been wearing one. _"Do you have any lotion you want me to use while I rub your back?" _He asked and she pointed to the nightstand where he saw the bottle. He leaned over her to reach for it and she tried to ignore the feeling of him pressed against her back while he reached and picked up the lotion. When he squirted a little on her back she tensed from the cold and he chuckled before he dabbed his fingers in it to move some to different areas on her back. Then he started working his hands into her lower back before working his way up to the middle.

_"You're really good at this." _She said when he reached her upper back and shoulders. He was about to reply when they heard a knock. _"Come in." _She hollered so he wouldn't stop.

_"Hey Care can I… What's going on?" _Rebekah asked hesitantly.

_"He's giving me a back rub."_

_"Okay… um… I'm out of shampoo. Can I use some of yours until tomorrow?"_

_"You don't have to ask Bekah. Use what you need."_

_"Sure. Um… I have some things if you need them."_

_"Bekah it's just a back rub. I'm not sleeping with your brother."_

_"Just thought I would offer in case you change your mind."_

_"Rebekah dear, if Caroline ever decides to give in to my advances, I have my own stash." _Klaus said with a smirk and Caroline blushed.

_"You two are driving me crazy and I can't move to give you a glare right now." _Caroline stated through her blush.

_"Well I'm going to get my shower in. Maybe I can get Stefan to give me my own massage." _Rebekah replied and shut the door. Caroline huffed into her pillow and Klaus chuckled at her. He moved over her back a couple more times and she nearly fell asleep. When he was done, he moved to her side and she turned to her side to face him.

_"Thanks. You know you nearly had me asleep."_

_"You welcome love. I'm going to let you get some sleep and I will wake you up tomorrow when we need to go."_

_"Alright. Just let me sleep in until at least 10."_

_"Will do love. Do you need anything before you go to sleep?"_

_"You could turn on the stereo and make sure the volume is down. If Stefan give Bekah a massage of any kind, I don't want to hear it."_

_"I don't blame you there love. Anything else?"_

_"Do you want to stay until I fall asleep?"_

_"If I do that, I would probably fall asleep with you love."_

_"I don't care. It's up to you." _She said and turned over to face the door while covering up some more. Klaus debated it for a minute before climbing in with her and pulling her to him.

_"I'll stay love."_

_"Thanks." _She said and closed her eyes. When he laid his head down, he wondered why she asked him to stay and looked at the calendar before turning off the lamp. He didn't see anything but the anniversary of her father's death that had passed the day they had come home. He switched off her lamp and kissed her shoulder before laying his head back down and closing his eyes. When he woke up the next morning he moved away from her until he woke up completely and then he put his arm around her again. She shifted in her sleep as she started waking up and looked around confused for a minute. When she remembered she had asked Klaus to stay she turned over to face him.

_"Good morning love."_

_"Good morning. Do you think there's coffee made?"_

_"I can go check for you. If there isn't I'll brew a pot."_

_"Thanks. I'm going to go brush my teeth real fast."_

_"I need to too. I'll see you downstairs love." _He said before kissing her forehead and leaving her room. Rebekah noticed her brother leave Caroline's room and rushed in.

_"So?"_

_"Nothing happened Rebekah. I just asked him to stay last night."_

_"Why did you ask him to stay if nothing happened?"_

_"I didn't want to be alone last night and you were with Stefan, so I asked your brother to stay until I fell asleep. I'm guessing he fell asleep too."_

_"I wish you would just give in already. I'm dying from the tension between you two."_

_"He asked me to the masquerade ball and then he asked me out on a date."_

_"What did you say?"_

_"I said I would go on both, but it didn't mean I was giving in."_

_"You're bloody killing me woman."_

_"I didn't say I wasn't giving in either though. I just couldn't say that to him."_

_"So are you going to or not?"_

_"I'm starting to. I just want to take my time."_

_"So do you think you'll need what I offered last night?"_

_"I don't know. Besides, he said he had his own stuff." _She reminded Rebekah with a look. _"He's taking me shopping for a dress for the ball today and he's taking me to get my tattoo done."_

_"I can't wait to see your dress and tattoo. I have my dress already, so when we're getting ready we can get ready together and come down the stairs to blow the guys away."_

_"That sounds positively evil Bekah. I'm in." _She said and gave her friend a hug before excusing herself to the bathroom. After she did everything in the bathroom, she changed into her clothes for the day and went downstairs. Klaus had her coffee ready and waiting for her and had already changed himself.

_"I'm guessing my sister interrogated you since Stefan followed to interrogate me?"_

_"You guessed correctly. Then we talked about helping each other get ready tomorrow."_

_"That should be fun."_

_"Yes, but I will not show you what I look like in my dress until then. You can see the dress so you know how to coordinate, but that's it."_

_"More surprise for me love. Have you got one in mind?"_

_"Well if I had been given more warning, I would have made one, but I wasn't so I have to wing it. Rebekah told me where she got hers so I'm going to check out that store before I go anywhere else."_

_"How about we get started then? We can stop for breakfast on the way."_

_"I'm not eating before I try on a dress. You can, but I'm waiting until after."_

_"Then I'll wait until after and eat with you. However, it will be lunch by then, so let's get moving." _He said as he grabbed his keys. She ran back upstairs and grabbed her purse and made a to-go cup of coffee before she joined him at the door. She felt weird taking his car instead of hers, but didn't say anything. When they got to the dress shop, Caroline browsed through the selections until she had a few picked out. Then she went and tried them all on. When she had her favorite picked out, she showed it to Klaus so he could make sure to match her and she went to pay. When the dressed was boxed up, they put it in the backseat and went to eat lunch. Caroline tried to buy her own lunch, but Klaus refused to let her pay for her own and covered the bill and tip. When they were done, he drove them to the tattoo parlor and she handed the guy the drawing. Caroline was becoming nervous as the guy drew up the stencil, so Klaus tried distracting her. _"You know this isn't going to hurt like you think it will."_

_"I think I can handle it."_

_"I know you can handle it. I can hold your hand if you want love."_

_"I'm a big girl; I can do this."_

_"I know you can; I was just offering." _He said as the guy came over to her to place the sketch. She pulled her hair up into a bun and pushed her strap down to give him better access before turning. Klaus stood in front of her and kept her still until the guy was done. Then they went over so Caroline could sit backwards in a chair and Klaus pulled one up to face her so he could distract her until it as done. Caroline heard the gun start up and pursed her lips until the guy said he was going to start. Caroline relaxed her shoulders and rested her head of the top of the seat. When she felt the guy begin she looked back to Klaus.

_"You were right. It doesn't hurt; I barely feel it."_

_"I figured you would be like that. The shoulder blade isn't that bad."_

_"I forgot you had one back there for a minute."_

_"Do you still not feel it? He's got the gun moving pretty good."_

_"It tickles."_

_"She has a good pain tolerance. Most women coming in here tense up a lot." _The guy said from his spot.

_"Yes she's a tough little one" _Klaus replied and gave Caroline a smile.

_"I wish everybody was this still. It cuts down the time I have to take doing the tattoo. Say, where did you get this design?"_

_"I came up with the idea and rough draft, but he finished it up for me." _Caroline replied.

_"Are you kids art majors or something?"_

_"He is, but I'm into clothing designs."_

_"Well I think it's a good design. You know you could get into my line of work if you wanted to."_

_"Who?" _Caroline asked.

_"Well both of you really."_

_"The only thing I can draw good is clothes, but he's amazing." _She replied.

_"I want to do mostly paintings." _Klaus replied.

_"Well it's an idea if you ever want a back-up."_

_"I'll consider it." _Klaus said with a chuckle and grinned at Caroline.

_"So how long you two been dating?"_

_"Well we're not yet. I keep trying, but she keeps saying no." _Klaus answered as she closed her eyes and dipped her head down.

_"Well you can't tell otherwise. I hope everything works out for you."_

_"I'm working on it." _Klaus answered with a chuckle.

_"Hey now, I've already agreed to 2 different dates with you. Don't be mean." _Caroline said as she looked back to Klaus. The guy finished the outline and started coloring in the design. _"That tickles worse than the outline." _She said as she tried to hold still. The guy paused so they could all have a laugh before she relaxed again and Klaus distracted her.

_"If he has to stop so you can laugh again, you'll owe me."_

_"What will I owe you?" _She asked and he leaned down to whisper in her ear.

_"You'll owe me a kiss and it will last as long as I want it to. And I would expect you to give it to me before you go to bed to night." _He finished before he pulled away and smirked at her. She narrowed her eyes before she nodded.

_"That is mean, but I think I can keep from laughing."_

_"We'll see love." _He said as the guy kept coloring. Caroline had to bite her lip and dip her head down during some of the parts as the urge to laugh rose. _"Do you feel a laugh coming on?"_

_"I'm alright." _She squeaked. The guy and Klaus smiled.

_"Are you sure love? "_

_"I'm fine."_

_"What's the wager?" _The guy asked curiously.

_"A kiss." _Klaus answered and Caroline huffed.

_"Maybe I should make this tickle her more then." _The guy replied and Caroline tried to look around.

_"Don't you dare. It's hard enough to keep from laughing."_

_"What do you say mate? Should we make her laugh?" _Klaus asked as the guy started a new color and Caroline made a face. Klaus turned to her and made a face that he thought would get her laughing.

_"Stop it Klaus." _She hissed and the guy stopped because he had to laugh. Caroline groaned as she pushed her head back down so she wouldn't see Klaus make another face and the guy started back again. The guy had been coloring in the small parts first, so he switched the ink to fill in the biggest part and Caroline made a strangled noise. After a couple seconds the guy pulled back and Caroline let a small giggle out.

_"I guess you won man." _The guy said and looked up at Klaus.

_"That isn't fair; that really tickles." _Caroline said with a pout. Klaus laughed before looking at her again.

_"All's fair in love and war sweetheart."_

_"You're evil."_

_"As are you when you want to be love."_

_"I am not evil." _She said with a smile. The guy finished up and told her to look in the mirror. She dropped the bantering with Klaus to go look and smiled with what she saw. She thanked the guy and he covered it up and gave her the ointment and instructions to take care of it until it healed. After paying, they walked out and went back to the car. Klaus didn't want to take her home yet, but figured she would fuss if he didn't so they drove back. When they got back, they noticed Stefan's SUV was gone and Caroline wondered if anybody was home. When they walked in, they found a note on the island saying that everybody was gone and wouldn't be back until around dinner. Caroline took her dress upstairs to hang it up and Klaus followed. When she turned around, she saw Klaus smirk at her before walking to her.

_"So love, do you want to kiss me now or later?"_

_"Um… I guess now is fine." _She answered and listened to the quiet house. Klaus held out his hand and led her to the bed. When he sat down, she considered sitting next to him, but pushed him until he scooted back and sat straddling him.

_"Bold move love."_

_"I know." _She said and gave a nervous giggle. He wrapped one arm around her waist and the other against the side of her neck to pull her down closer. She bit her lip when he moved his head to her jaw and down the side of her neck that didn't have his hand. She closed her eyes as he made his way back to her face and paused when his lips brushed her mouth. She knew he was waiting on her and moved to meet his lips with hers. She moved her lips slowly until she felt his hand tighten around her waist. His other hand moved up into her hair and she felt him pull her more into him and she gasped and opened her eyes. He looked at her for a moment before he flipped them over until he was on top of her. Their breathing picked up as he lowered his face back to hers and moved his lips against hers. Her hand went up to his neck and he crashed his lips back to hers. When she felt his hand slide under her shirt to rub up her side, she let out a small whimper and he licked her lip to get her to part her lips. She didn't part her lips until she felt him press against her and she gave a small cry. When his tongue met hers, she pushed her chest up and he groaned into her mouth as he pushed against her again. His hand was busy running from her ribs to her hip, but he felt her lift her leg up higher and reached to rub from her knee to her thigh. When he went back to her hip, he gave a small squeeze and broke the kiss to rest his forehead against hers as they were both breathing heavy. Caroline opened her eyes to look at him and noticed the restraint he was using. She reached her free hand up to rub his face and his eyes snapped open.

_"I have to stop love or I won't be able to." _He whispered as he moved to lie down beside her. She rolled to her side to face him as she debated what to say.

_"Why do you push yourself to the point you nearly lose control?"_

_"I honestly didn't think you'd let me get that far love." _He said and looked at her.

_"You know you spend so much time trying to get me to give in to you; what are you going to do if I do?"_

_"Treasure you, take you out, make sure you were pleasured properly, and all the other things couple does."_

_"Why me? I've seen the girls at school chase after you. You don't even give them the time of day."_

_"And almost all of them are shallow or have qualities I don't want anything to do with."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"I don't have to talk to them to know that. I've walked around campus and saw or heard them. Some of them Kol's past behavior a run for his money. Your friend Bonnie seems to have calmed him down."_

_"Yeah she has her ways." _She agreed with a laugh, but sobered quickly when she looked back at him. _"I guess I've kind of put you through hell."_

_"Just a bit love, but you had a good reason." _He replied as he moved her hair behind her ear and shoulder. When he put his hand down between them, she reached her hand over to run her fingers over his before reaching around to hold his hand. He leaned over and kissed the back of her hand and she lifted up on her elbow so she could lean over and kiss his cheek. She took a steadying breath before she leaned forward more and kissed the side of his neck before moving up to his ear.

_"You don't have to take me out to win me over. You've already been doing that." _She whispered and felt him raising his head up to look at her. When he was face to face with her she gave him a small smile and he released his hand from hers to cup her cheek.

_"I still want to take you out."_

_"You can; just know that it isn't what makes my decision." _She said before leaning into him to press her lips against his. While she was kissing him, she moved her hand down to lift his shirt up, but he stopped her.

_"Caroline, I already told you that I'm not doing that until you give in." _He stressed as he looked at her. She leaned forward to his ear without releasing his shirt.

_"Who said I wasn't?" _She whispered and released his shirt to move his hand to her side before going back to his. He let go of her side and she thought he was backing out, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her from the bed. She followed him as he led her downstairs to his room. When they were in his room, he locked the door and turned back to her. She walked backwards and sat on the bed, and he followed her over and sat next to her. Then he turned around to face her and she looked to her side at him. He reached up and laid his hands on her face and she turned her body towards his. She reached up to bunch up his shirt and pull him to her, but he stopped before he reached her face to look at her closer.

_"Are you absolutely sure about this? Because if we do this I want you with me. Are you sure you're ready for that?"_

_"I'm sure." _She breathed and smiled. He smiled back before lowering his mouth to hers and pulling her body towards his. She kicked her shoes and socks off before crawling further into the bed and he copied her actions. He pulled her into his lap and she reached down to tug his shirt up so she could take it off. When she got it over his head, their lips met again and she rubbed her hands up his chest until she one up to his neck for a better grip. His hands glided up her shirt until he realized that she was wearing a shirt that had a built-in bra and she smiled into his kiss. She raised her arms up and leaned back to help him take off her shirt. When she lowered her arms back to where they were, she looked at him to see him leaning forward. When he took one of her breast in his mouth, she grunted and moved her hand up to wrap her fingers in his hair. His hand teased the other breast as she grounded down against him and her breathing increased. Before she had time to think, he flipped them so she was on her back and started kissing down her stomach. He leaned up to unbutton her shorts and pull them off. She sat up and reached for his, but he stopped her.

_"Patience love." _He said with a smirk and she looked at him curiously until he kissed her until she was lying down again. Then he kissed down her body as his fingers slid under the sides of her panties to pull them down. She sat up again as he went to toss her panties to the floor and went for his jeans again. _"What did I tell you about patience love?"_

_"Just trust me." _She said with her own smirk as she sat up on her knees and pushed him to her side on the bed. Then she kissed him until he relaxed against his pillow before moving down to kiss his neck on down to his jeans. She paused to undo the button and zipper on his pants before tugging on them and his boxers to get them off. _"Now, I don't know how long it's been for you, but I'm going to assume a while. So I'm going to do something and you're not going to stop me; understood?" _She said as she crawled up to his face. She hovered over his mouth until he gave her a nod and then she kissed him before retracing her earlier path. When she reached his waist, she lifted her arms to tie her hair back out of her face and gave him a smirk before lowering to breathe hot air over his erection and watched him jerk slightly. Then she laid on her hands on his thighs and gently scratched down as her tongue licked up his erection, leaving him groaning. Then she braced one arm across his hips and the other around his base as she lowered her head to take him into her mouth. She pushed down until he was all the way in and then she sucked and swirled her tongue as she brought her head back up.

_"Bloody hell Caroline." _He let out in a breath and she repeated her action faster and started moving her hand in rhythm with her mouth. _"Love, I'm not going to last long if you keep doing that." _He said quickly and she hummed as she pushed down again. He balled his hands in the sheet to try to keep from blowing, but she increased her suction and speed. She felt him trying to hold back, so she increased the pressure from her hand to match her mouth and she felt him jerk. She knew he was close so she pushed her head down and moaned, causing him to release. She quickly swallowed before coming up and sucking her way off of him. She swallowed again to get rid of the rest before wiping her mouth and kissing her way back up to him. _"Where did you learn that love?"_

_"I read. I figured I would try it. I'm guessing it worked the way it was supposed to?" _She teased and he kissed her. Then he flipped them back over so he could do what he had wanted to do first.

_"Yes it was definitely amazing, but you interrupted me." _He teased back before he started kissing down her neck and on to her breast to linger for a minute. When he started moving down her stomach they heard the front door open and close. Caroline groaned and covered her face. Klaus checked and covered her up. He reached down and put on his boxers and jeans before walking over to the door. He opened and closed it quickly, but she could hear him talking to everybody. _"If you all could come back in a couple hours, we would really appreciate it."_

_"We? Is Caroline in your room?" _She heard Rebekah ask.

_"Yes Bekah; Caroline is in my room and if any of you think you're going to stay here and somehow try to cockblock I will kill you. You can come back later. If we're not out by then, don't bother knocking." _He replied and they all laughed, but Stefan told him to text him when it was safe to come back. When she heard the front door close, Klaus came back in and re-locked the door. _"Sorry love, but I didn't think you'd want them breaking down the door."_

_"Just get back in here." _She replied and he pushed his jeans back down and jumped in the bed. She giggled until he crushed his lips to hers and threw the covers back off of her. He started moving down her body again and reached down to rub his fingers up her folds to her clit. She gave a small moan and arched her back. His mouth moved to her hip and he sucked, letting his teeth graze her skin causing her to jerk. Then he lifted her legs over his shoulders and wrapped and arm over her hips to keep her still. He figured she would be highly responsive since he had already caused her to jerk twice, and he wanted to be prepared. He followed the path his fingers had taken with his tongue, but when he reached her clit he sucked and flicked his tongue simultaneously. Her back arched as she twisted the sheets in her hands and bit her lip to keep from crying out. He didn't let up in his assault and soon she couldn't keep from crying out. When she felt herself building, he pushed a finger in to add to her pleasure. When she felt like she was going to explode any second, he pushed in a second finger and curled them against her spot. When he felt her tighten he grazed his teeth over her clit and she came crying out. He brought his mouth up to carry her out her orgasm with his fingers. When he pulled his fingers out he gave her a couple licks before sucking her off his fingers. _"I don't think I've ever had a bigger orgasm" _She admitted with a chuckle as he crawled back up her body and reached to his nightstand to get a condom.

_"We're just getting started love."_

_"I know. I guess you do have a reason to be so cocky." _She joked as he finished putting the condom on and looked at her with a smirk.

_"You know we're not leaving the bedroom for a while, right love?"_

_"Maybe we can move it up to my room before everyone gets back." _She suggested as she felt him pressing at her entrance. He smirked before he kissed her and reached his hand down to guide himself into her. She moaned into his mouth as he filled her up halfway. She felt full, but she felt him pull back and push the rest of the way and dropped her jaw with a release of breath. He kept still for a moment so she could adjust to him. Klaus was worried about hurting her with how tight she felt to him, but she urged him to move as she pulled him back down to kiss him. He started thrusting slow and deep, but soon picked up his speed and she threw her head back as she arched her back. He moved to kiss her neck and knead her breast with his hand and she threw her hand up to brace it against the bed to help meet his thrusts. He felt her tightening again and slid his hand under her to lift her hip and give a new angle to his thrusts. When she came, he almost released himself, but he wanted to get another orgasm from her before he got his. He lifted his head to kiss her as she caught her breath and flipped them over. He sat up with her and pushed up when he felt her push down. She tried to get a good grip on his shoulder but they were both sweating and she reached to grab the headboard with one hand while she ran her fingers in his hair with the other. When he pulled her legs more around him, it leaned her back some and she lost her grip on the headboard, so she leaned further back to use her hand to brace herself behind her. Klaus took advantage of the new angle and leaned forward to pull a breast into his mouth as he wrapped an arm around her to hold her and the other behind him to brace himself. As they moved in rhythm, she found herself moving towards another orgasm and moved her legs to push him down. She leaned down over him and he grabbed one of her hips to keep up the pace as he thrust up with is hips. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer and reached his hand down to rub her clit to quicken her orgasm causing her to nearly lose her balance when she jolted. He increased his rubbing until she tightened around him and screamed out. He grabbed her other hip with his hand and gave a couple more thrusts before he came with a groan and pulled her down on him, wrapping his arms around her and rocking with her throughout their orgasms. When she caught her breath she moved her head to kiss him and he rolled them over. She felt him hardening again and broke the kiss to look at him. _"You're already ready again?" _She asked and he laughed before he pulled out of her so he could take the condom off and throw it away. He cleaned himself up before reaching in the nightstand for another condom before turning back to her.

_"I can't help myself with you love. Although, if you need a break we'll take one."_

_"Are you going to have enough of those until we go to the store again?" _She asked as she pointed to the condoms. He reached over and pulled out how many he had. She counted that he had about 10; not counting the one he already had out. _"I repeat the question; are YOU going to have enough?"_

_"I should love. If not, I'll go get more; I know you don't want to take any chances."_

_"You're right; I don't, but if we happen to have an accident or something, the shot's had enough time to take effect. I have to go for the next one soon in a little over a month from now."_

_"What are the chances of it working in case we have an accident?"_

_"90 something percent. I think she said it was 92%, but I can't remember for sure. I have the paper upstairs. I know condoms say 99%, but they're actually only about 98%. The pill is less effective than the shot; I do know that. That's the reason I switched from the pill to the shot; that and it can sometimes get rid of periods."_

_"I can see why you'd want that love."_

_"I think you'll take advantage of it." _She said as she rolled her eyes before lowering her head and kissing him. Her hand reached over and got the condom he had put down and put it in his hand before smiling. He smiled back and rolled back on top of her. He pushed against her as she pushed down causing him to enter her slightly. She jumped and he pulled back when they noticed what happened. He tore the condom open and put it on before he crawled back over her. She reached between them that time to guide him in and he bent his head to nibble on her ear as he pushed forward and groaned. She felt tighter than the last time to him and they were still covered in sweat. When she pulled her hand out from between them she ran it up his side and back until she reached his hair. He leaned up and put her ankles against his neck before leaning forward to grab the headboard and thrusting again. She threw her hands up against the headboard to keep from sliding up in the bed from his thrust pushing harder. When she was close, he reached a hand down around her leg to flick her clit and she came hard against him, causing him to release with her and dropping her legs to his sides. He leaned over her and kissed her as he continued rocking before pulling out and switching to a new condom. She scooted up and he lifted her up on her knees before turning her around and placing her hands on the headboard.

_"Just keep your hands here love and keep your legs together." _He breathed against her shoulder as he lifted her enough to place himself at her entrance before lowering her and pushing in. He wrapped one arm around to her chest and the other around her hips. She pushed back against him as he pushed forward and they fell into a rhythm of deep, hard thrusts that had them both moaning. When he reached his hand down to her clit, he pulled her away from the headboard and flush against him as he held on to her shoulder while he placed his head on her other shoulder to nibble at her neck and ear. When she was close again, he moved his hand from her shoulder to her face to turn her head to him as best as she could. _"Look at me Caroline." _He said hoarsely and watched her fight her eyes to keep them open and look at him. _"Keep looking at me." _He said as he moved his hand from her head to wrap around her waist as his other hand picked up pace on her clit. _"That's right love. Cum for me Caroline." _He said as reached her hand up to his face and tried to kiss him before she let go, but she ended crying out her release against his lips and he kissed her as he moved his hand from her and turned them so she could rest her body against the bed. Then grabbed her hips and started pounding into her before her orgasm had died down to bring another one before he would let go. This caused her to go into another orgasm quick and she screamed out as her back arched her into him as he sped up to finish himself. When he released he dropped his head to her back and laid kisses against her spine and he rocked them until he stopped trembling. He pulled out before he lifted her to put them straight in the bed. When she was lying down on the pillow, he took the condom off and cleaned himself off. She thought he was going to reach for another one and rolled to his chest to stop him.

_"I swear if you reach for another one right now, I will pass out on you. I need a break." _She panted and looked up at him. He looked down to see her soaked in sweat and breathing hard. He scooted down so he was face to face with her and reached over to rub her cheek before reaching down to wrap his arm around her. He kissed her softly and looked her over.

_"I didn't hurt you, did I love?"_

_"No." _She panted and smiled. _"You just wore me out. If you're wanting more, you got to give me a little bit." _She finished and closed her eyes.

_"You can take a break and I can take the time to explore the parts of you I missed earlier." _He breathed and smirked when he saw her eyes shoot open and her eyebrows rise.

_"You might want to take a break with me. I'd say they'll be back soon, so you need to grab your stash and I need to get the feeling back in my legs so we can go upstairs."_

_"I'll take that as a compliment love."_

_"Go ahead, but I really can't feel my legs yet." _She laughed and he kissed her.

_"I'll grab our clothes if you want to get a shower or bath. Once we're cleaned up, I can remove the bandage from your shoulder."_

_"I actually forgot about that." _She laughed as she covered her mouth. _"Do you think it will be alright with all the sweat?" _She asked and made a sheepish face.

_"It should be fine love, but I can check it if you want me to. Let's get a shower first though." _He said as he sat up to get their clothes. He threw his pants in the hamper and put his boxers on before handing her clothes to her. She threw her clothes on before she stood to finish pulling her shorts up. Klaus peeked outside the door to make sure no one had made it home and Caroline didn't bother buttoning up her shorts. She kissed him before telling him to grab him some clothes for after their shower and for bed before running up the steps to gather her clothes. She found her pajama shorts and another tank top before grabbing some towels and running to her bathroom. Klaus came in carrying his clothes and shampoo. _"I put the condoms under your cover in case someone comes home."_

_"Good idea. Lock the door because Bekah don't always knock." _She said and Klaus spun around to lock the door before they started stripping. Klaus leaned over and flipped on the shower as Caroline finished getting her clothes off. Before he could get in she pulled him in for another kiss and he backed her up into the wall. She felt him getting hard again and her body heated back up as she felt herself getting wet again. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he walked them over to the shower before carefully stepping in and placing her against the shower wall. She felt the water coming down as she reached over to make sure the shower curtain was closed back. She lifted herself to grind against him and Klaus could feel how wet she was again reached one of his hands between them to push his fingers in as his thumb rubbed her clit.

_"You're already wet again for me." _He said as he kept working his fingers and thumb. She slipped one of her hands down to stroke him and he dropped his head to hers. She used her free hand to gather water and pour it on his head. He moved her from the wall to under the spray before putting her back against the wall. She felt herself getting close and dropped her head to his shoulder as she braced for it. When she came he kept going until she nearly came again. _"Love, if you want to keep it safe we need to go to your room now." _He warned and she stopped stroking to look at him and saw he was barely in control.

_"If you can pull out, we can stay." _She said to him softly as she pulled his face to hers.

_"We might want to go to your room." _He admitted and looked away, but she pulled his face back to hers for another kiss. _"Caroline…" _He strained as her breast rubbed against him and his erection slid against her folds.

_"Klaus… you're the one who has me against the wall. I can't go anywhere until you decide to let me."_

_"I don't think I could stop once I'm inside you." _He said as he brushed against her again and groaned.

_"If you're worried about it, then let's go to the bedroom. I can do the math and calendar in my head and think we'd be safe, but there's no guarantee." _She said as she started to breathe heavier with want.

_"I can't wait until we get there so just hang with me until we can get there." _He replied before he crushed his lips to hers again and slipped inside her with them both moaning. He moved inside her as he turned the shower off and paused to step out of the shower. She reached for the towels as she lifted herself to move with him. She managed to get a couple towels in place as he held her to thrust into her. He paused again to move his arms around the towels to hold them in place before walking to the door and putting her against it so he could unlock the door as she pushed her hips against him to get some friction. When the door was unlocked he wrapped his arm back in place and gave her a couple thrust against the door. When he paused to open the door, they heard the front door open and he shut the door back and locked it again quickly. _"Bloody hell." _He panted as she pushed her hips down again. He looked at her before he pulled out and they rearranged the towels and grabbed clothes before he looked out the door and they crept to her room. Once they were inside, he locked the door and lifted her back up, dropping their towels in the process. He carried her over to the bed and laid her down before reaching his hand out to search for the condoms. When he couldn't find them, he pulled her back up to throw the cover back and saw a note from Kol. He grumbled and showed her the note before he turned to go to the door. She ran ahead of him and put herself against the door. When he was about to argue, she pulled him down to her lips and he reached down to lift her against the door before slipping back inside her. She broke the kiss to bite down on her lip to keep from making a sound. He moved them from the door to the wall and started thrusting harder inside of her. She reached for his hand and brought it to her mouth before putting hers over his mouth. When he felt her getting close he moved his hand down from her mouth to her clit and she moved her hand from his mouth to his neck to pull him in for a kiss to muffle the sound. His thrust became harder as she tightened around him and moaned into his mouth. She felt him about to release and had him set her down quickly as she got down to her knees and pulled him into her mouth to finish him off. When he released, she swallowed quickly before standing back up and pulling him to her lips. When they broke apart, she bent down to pick up their clothes and handed him his before starting to get dressed herself.

_"Now we can go strangle your brother."_

_"Not yet love. I have to get that bandage off or changed; whichever it needs." _He said as stepped towards her and she turned around for him. He pulled the bandage off and noticed that it needed to be left open so it wouldn't leak any color out and ran to the bathroom to wet a rag. When he came back, he wiped around the tattoo before dabbing the rag on it and throwing the rag in her hamper. He rubbed some more ointment on it and looked around for a strapless shirt for her. When he found one, she went to her dresser and pulled out her strapless bra. She quickly pulled her tank top off so she could put on her bra and he handed her the new shirt. She pulled her hair up in a bun and they left the room to talk to Kol. When they both got downstairs, Kol spotted them and ran towards the front door. Klaus ran out the front door after him and Caroline ran out the back to head him off in case he ran towards the back. She could hear them running towards her and stepped out from the back of the house. Kol tried to stop when he saw her and slid to the ground. Klaus came up behind him as Caroline stalked towards them with her hands on her hips.

_"Kol, I'm only going to ask nicely once; where are they?"_

_"Garbage disposal."_

_"Kol, you do realize I'm going to tell Bonnie about this. All the progress you've made with her will be for nothing if I do."_

_"You wouldn't."_

_"Try me; I've done worse." _She said as she squatted down to his level. _"Now… I know you're bound to have hid them somewhere besides the garbage disposal because we would have heard that being used."_

_"You're good. How did you hear anything if you two were imitating rabbits?"_

_"Because we both know how to be quiet when there's other people in the house. Now… where are they?"_

_"I opened them and threw them away." _He said as he looked down.

_"He's telling the truth this time." _Rebekah said as she walked up next to Caroline. Caroline nodded before walking inside and looking in Kol's room until she found his stash and bagged them up to take them to the fire pit. She put them in the pit and poured lighter fluid on them as Klaus walked his brother around the house and Kol's eyes bugged out at the sight of Caroline lighting the match.

_"Don't Caroline… please… I'll go buy more."_

_"We can do that as soon as I'm done here. Then you can go buy more." _She said as she tossed the match into the pit and watched as the fire blossomed and baked the condoms in their packaging. Then she walked up to Kol and cocked her head to the side. _"One thing Kol; I've got a temper that you don't want directed at you. Now, I'm a forgiving person, so as long as you don't pull something like this again I won't be forced to retaliate." _She said with a smile and told Klaus to let him go. Kol pouted as he walked up to the fire pit and turned to look at them. He noticed Caroline had got her tattoo and walked back over to look at it. _"Kol, what are you doing now?"_

_"You got your tattoo done. I want to see it. Did it hurt?"_

_"No."_

_"Mine hurt. How come yours didn't hurt?"_

_"Maybe because I know there's worse pain out there than getting a needle." _She replied and turned back to Klaus. Rebekah and Stefan came over to look at it and told her it looked good. She gave a small smile and nodded before looking at Klaus. They excused themselves to run to the store and Kol apologize before he went inside. Stefan and Rebekah exchanged a laugh before they went inside to start dinner. On the way to the store, Klaus glanced over at Caroline curiously.

_"Why didn't you just take some from his stash love?"_

_"I thought about it, but I read them before I brought them outside."_

_"What made you change your mind love?"_

_"They would have been too small for you." _She said with a smile as she looked back to him. He chuckled and she finally let go of the laugh she had been holding in. _"It was so hard to hold back from laughing when I read them that I had to remind myself why I was angry."_

_"Kol was petrified of you. I don't think he'll try that again."_

_"He better not. Does he seriously not understand what he did or could have caused?"_

_"I don't think he thought about it sweetheart. I think he was trying to pull a prank, but it backfired."_

_"I probably overreacted, but I couldn't stop. I suggest we stock up and hide them in both of our rooms in case he tried that again."_

_"Good idea love. Want to pick up some other things while we're at here?" _He asked as he pulled into the parking lot and parked the car.

_"We might as well. We never know what we might need or want later." _She said with a smirk and opened the door to get out. Klaus got out shaking his head and walked around to where she was waiting for him before reaching out his hand to her. She took it and locked her fingers with his as they walked inside and got a hand basket. They walked over to the area they could find condoms and Caroline bent down to start reading the boxes before to him and he put them in the basket. She threw him every box she could find in his size that had spermicide in them, along with a variety box and a box of ultra-thin. Then she stood and read the different gels and vibrating rings. _"I'm at a loss on this stuff; you pick something out." _Klaus chuckled and picked out a couple things before they walked over to the lingerie section and Caroline gave him a look. She browsed through the section looking at everything with a look that said she didn't want to imagine wearing it. Klaus came up behind her as was looking and wrapped an arm around her.

_"Having trouble love?" _He asked and she turned to kiss him.

_"Why don't you go check out what's in the basket and I'll pick a couple things out to check out myself. I'll meet you outside and what I pick can be a surprise for later."_

_"Are you sure love?"_

_"I'm sure; now go on and check out. I don't want you to see what I pick out yet." _She replied and he kissed her before walking towards the check-out. She smirked and went to a couple of the pieces she liked, but kept her face showing differently. After she had about 10 pieces, she made her way to the check-out and paid for her pieces. When she walked out of the store, Klaus was waiting on her against the car. She walked over to the car and threw her bag in the backseat where his bag was before they got in. When they got back to the house, dinner was about done, so Caroline took the bags and went upstairs to hide them. She made sure to keep a couple boxes out to hide in Klaus' room on her way back to the kitchen. Then she leaned into Klaus' ear and whispered where everything was.

Dinner passed normally as everyone was discussing plans for the rest of the week, except when Kol grumbled about his stash being burned. Caroline and Klaus told them about the wager made when Caroline was getting tattooed and they all laughed. Rebekah made the remark that only Caroline would laugh during that and asked if she wanted to get another one; to which Caroline nodded. Stefan suggested that everyone needed to switch rooms and bathrooms around and after debating, everyone agreed. Rebekah decided to switch rooms with Klaus and share a bathroom with Stefan, leaving Kol a bathroom to himself. Klaus would take Rebekah's room and share the upstairs bathroom with Caroline. When the arrangements were agreed upon, Kol made the remark how Klaus and Caroline would never be downstairs, and Stefan and Rebekah would be keeping him up every night. After dinner, Stefan went upstairs to help Rebekah pack everything downstairs, while Caroline helped Klaus pack everything upstairs. They ended up switching out the mattresses and box springs while leaving the bed frames since they were identical. It was pretty late when everybody got everything moved around, but the couples still made time for each other. Caroline went in her room and pulled out one of the lingerie pieces she had bought and slipped it on while Klaus was in the bathroom putting the rest of his stuff up. She decided to go help him out with a little encouragement and walked into the bathroom. When he looked around to see her, she walked in and shut the door.

_"Is that one of your new pieces love?"_

_"Yes; I thought you could use some help in here so you could get done and come to bed."_

_"You did, did you? What if I just decided to wait until tomorrow to finish?"_

_"You can't. We have class and a ball to go to tomorrow. I'll need plenty of bathroom space to get ready." _She replied with a smirk and started putting things up. Klaus sped through putting everything up and she laughed until she saw he was done.

_"You know love… it's still pretty early. Are you sure you want to go to sleep?"_

_"Who said anything about sleep? I asked if you wanted to come to bed." _She replied and opened the door to walk out. When she was outside the door she ran into her room with Klaus right behind her as he shut the door and locked it. They stayed in there the rest of the night indulging in one another.


	10. Chapter 10

**Dance of Desire**

Rebekah decided to take her dress and accessories upstairs to get ready in Caroline's room like they had originally planned and made Klaus take all his stuff to get ready downstairs to Stefan's room. Kol had invited Bonnie and they were waiting on her before getting ready. When Bonnie arrived, Caroline and Rebekah nearly tackled her with their hugs before they led her upstairs. The men shook their heads as they all went to dress in their suits knowing it would be a while before the women would be ready. The women decided to do their hair and make-up before putting their dresses on. As they were all getting ready, they were discussing the men.

_"So, what have you two got planned for the night?" _Rebekah asked and gave a flirty smile to both the other girls before applying her eyeliner.

_"Who said I'm waiting until after?" _Caroline replied and Bonnie threw a hair pin at her.

_"Caroline Forbes! What crazy stunt are you thinking about pulling?" _Bonnie asked as she started blushing.

_"I'm going to use the dance to seduce." _Caroline replied and Rebekah spun around and crossed her arms.

_"You two have barely left the room since you guys started."_

_"Oh come on Bekah; you've been pushing us together for a while. Besides, I got both of you something in case you got the same idea I did." _She explained and went to her closet to pull out a couple gift bags for them. _"I got these for you when I got mine. Bonnie, it's completely up to you if you wear that and go that far with Kol, but I thought you might like it if you did." _Caroline explained before Bonnie could open her bag. Rebekah didn't need to hear anymore and tore into her bag, smiling when she saw the lingerie piece inside; it would hide until she was ready for Stefan to see it. Bonnie's eyes widened as she picked up her piece and she looked at Caroline before looking back and giving a small smile. The girls finished their make-up before moving on to their hair. When they each had the hairdo they wanted, they turned their backs to each other to get into their lingerie pieces before turning around to show them off. Then Caroline went to the drawer and pulled out a few necessities and put them in her handbag before going to the closet and pulling out her dress. They each helped each other get their dresses on so they didn't mess up their hair or make-up and made sure their lingerie didn't show before pulling on their masks and gloves and walking out of the bedroom. Rebekah hollered down the stairs to see if the guys were ready and told them to stand in the kitchen. The girls took their turns going down and facing the men.

Rebekah went down first and Stefan's jaw dropped when he saw her. She did a little spin as Stefan held out his hand for her to join him. When she took it, he pulled her by his side and she giggled before kissing him; thankful she had worn smear resistant lipstick. Caroline came down next and Klaus looked to see her. He froze as she walked up to him and smirked before kissing him and he nearly drug her back upstairs, but she told him to be patient. Klaus was still growling when Bonnie entered the room and Kol choked on the drool accumulating in his mouth. When he finally caught his breath he ran to slide next to her and lift her up in a spin before setting her down and looking her over. They all laughed as they thought they were adorable together. Each couple took separate cars so they could leave when they wanted to. When they arrived at the ball, they all walked in together before heading to the dance floor.

After about an hour, Caroline felt she had teased Klaus enough with dancing and told him she wanted to show him something. She led him outside to a secluded area before turning around and pulling him to her lips. He tried to ask what she was doing, but she put a finger to his lips and gave a small smile before telling him to lie down. When he was lying back on the grass, she stepped over his waist and made sure her gown flared around their waists as she lowered herself down on him. She leaned forward to kiss him as she ground against him. When he tried to moved his hands to her, she grabbed his wrists and pushed them down above his head.

_"What are you up to love?"_

_"Well I have a surprise for you, but you'll have to wait until we're home before you see it. However, we can still have a little fun without anyone knowing." _She replied as she skimmed her hands down his arms and to his chest as she rose back up. She took her scarf off from around her and tied it around his eyes before tying his hands up in it too.

_"Reading again love?"_

_"No, this is my idea. This just makes sure you don't see your surprise before time or move your hands." _She replied as she leaned back and slid her hands under her dress to reach his pants and undo them. He lifted to help her push them down out of the way. She smirked when she realized he was going commando under his suit. She reached in her handbag for a condom and pack of tissues for after before tearing the foil packet open and placing it on him. When she was sure it was where it needed to be, she leaned forward kissed him as she untied his hands and told him he could take the blindfold off. When he reached up to take the blindfold off, Caroline rose up to place him and sink down on him. She caught him by surprise and he groaned as she pushed down as far she could as held still, waiting for him to take off the blindfold.

_"So you're really not going to let me have a peek at what you're wearing under there love?"_

_"Not until we get home." _She replied as he placed the sash on the ground next to them and put his hands on her hips to push down. Klaus wanted to sit up with her and take off their masks, but she wouldn't let him yet. It wasn't until after she had first orgasm that she was distracted enough for Klaus to sit up with her and pull the mask from her face. She lifted his mask from his as he pulled one of her gloves off. He worked on the other glove after she had his mask off and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and used his other hand to hold her face close to his. Caroline had a hard time keeping quiet in the new position as he pounded into her from below, and as her next orgasm started she had to drop her face to his shoulder to muffle the sound. Klaus felt her getting her close and reached under her dress to finger her clit to push her over. When she came, it pushed him over with her and he pulled her face back to his. He kept her there for a few minutes as they came down from their high, but she bent to kiss him when she had caught her breath. When Klaus felt himself beginning to harden again, he knew they had better get out of there soon or they wouldn't make it home for a while.

_"Love I think it's time we go home while we still can." _He whispered against her lips and she looked at him with a grin before pulling herself off enough to get the tissues for him and fix her panties. She kept a layer of her dress over him to help him stay covered until he was done. He looked around to find a trash can, but she just took the tissue paper from him and wrapped them all up in another tissue paper before throwing it in her handbag. When he looked at her, she opened up the bag to see that she had only put condoms and tissues in there. _"Where's your phone love?"_

_"Where do I normally keep it?" _She asked as she tilted her head to the side. She carefully reached down the top of her dress to pull the phone out and wave it at him.

_"Is that why I have your keys in my pocket?"_

_"Yeah. All us girls decided to seduce you guys tonight."_

_"Well let's get you home so I can see what you put on under that dress."_

_"Let's go in the back of the house so we'll be closer to the stairs and we won't have to hear everyone else when we get there." _She suggested as they walked to the car and noticed that everyone else had already gone. _"I guess I'm the only one that was too impatient to wait until getting home." _She pointed out with an embarrassed laugh and he chuckled.

When Klaus and Caroline entered the house, they could hear the other couples in the house and had to keep from laughing. Caroline took her heels on to be quieter on the stairs, and Klaus decided to pick her up to get them to her room faster. When he tossed her down on the bed, she let loose some giggle and he leaned down to hover over her. Caroline paused him so they could both stand back up to get their clothes off. She made him keep still so she could get him down to his boxers before she let him take her dress off. When her dress dropped to the floor she became a little nervous being left to his inspection; even if he had already seen her. She watched him as he looked her over before he picked her up and spun them back towards the bed. He chucked his boxers off before he settled over her and kissed her. As their kiss deepened, Caroline could feel him pressing against her and reached over to grab him a packet and ripped it open. When he heard it, he took it from her and got ready before coming back to her.

_"As much as I love this on you, I'm afraid it's going to have to come off love." _He breathed as his hands skimmed over the two piece lingerie set before gathering it up and ripping the top part in two. She sat up enough to push the rest of it from the bed as Klaus reached down and ripped the panties off. Caroline thought the roughness he showed would scare her, but it aroused her further. He ran a hand over her before reaching down to run his fingers across her folds. Feeling how wet she was already, he removed his hand and pushed himself in with one quick thrust causing them both to moan loudly. They continued on like the other couples for the rest of the night. Classes weren't in session the next day since they had a break coming up and had held a ball the previous night, so all of them were glad to sleep in; Bonnie had been lucky her break had already started and was staying with all of them until she had to go back.

The next afternoon, everyone finally dragged themselves from their rooms, but they were all lazing around in their pajamas. Rebekah and Caroline would have to go to work later, but until then they were content to sit around the house. Everybody decided to order take-out because none of them felt like cooking. As they sat around eating, they were all discussing their plans after graduation. It turned out that all of them had planned on moving to New York to start their careers and they were talking about all the things they wanted to do there. Klaus looked around the group, knowing he would graduate a year ahead of them all and told them that he was going to stick around and wait on everyone to graduate so they could all make the move together; he wanted to be there for his siblings and Caroline mainly. Then Bonnie brought up the town celebration coming up in Mystic Falls to celebrate her father becoming mayor; she wanted to know if anyone else was going to be there. Caroline and Rebekah both had work that day, since it was a weekend that they wouldn't be visiting home, so only Kol was going to be able to make it; he promised to record it so all of the others could see it later though. Then they decided to make plans for their break coming up; they didn't know whether to go to Mystic Falls the whole time or take a vacation, but they were leaning on both. Later, Klaus got a call from Elijah saying he would like to visit them to catch up and meet the people in his siblings' lives, so they all made arrangements for him and Katherine to visit and stay in the guestroom, since it was the same weekend that Bonnie and Kol would be in Mystic Falls.

The rest of the week carried on normally, except for preparing for Katherine and Elijah to visit, and everybody was ready to visit Caroline's mom for that current weekend. Liz was excited for her daughter and Klaus to have gotten together since the last time she had seen them and Caroline told her about the ball and theatre Klaus had taken her to. Liz made the joke of approving of marriage when they got to the point and they both looked up in shock, but Liz laughed it off. The rest of the weekend felt a little awkward, but they enjoyed their stay nonetheless. Caroline didn't want to leave as much from this visit as she had in the past, but Liz was excited for their break coming up and promised to take off work while they were there.


	11. Chapter 11

**Celebration and Disaster**

Another few days passed and Elijah and Katherine made it in on that Friday. Since Kol was still there and would be leaving for Mystic Falls later, Bonnie was on her way to meet him at the house for the trip and was able to meet Elijah and Katherine before they left. Elijah was happy to meet the people his siblings had been with, and approved of them all. Elijah was a little skeptically about the girls working in a bar until he visited the place and saw it wasn't as bad as it sounded, and settled for being happy that they liked working there. Rebekah and Caroline made dinner before work so Elijah and Katherine could see they didn't live on pizza and take-out all of the time, and Elijah and Katherine were surprised when they tasted everything. Rebekah explained that Caroline's mother had given them a family recipe cookbook as a college present on one of their visits

The next day Caroline had a weird feeling that she couldn't figure out; she was clumsier than normal as she tried to push it from her head. She even had Klaus call Kol and make sure everyone was alright back home before she left for work and they were fine. She chalked the feeling up to her nerves from having guests and break coming up, and went to work. It had been slower than usual so Rebekah and Caroline had been were cleaning up around the bar when Damon walked in and they didn't see him. He searched around until he saw Klaus and his brother and walked to him. When Stefan saw his arm in a sling, he put his drink down and stood, causing Klaus to turn and stand as well.

_"What happened to you?" _Stefan asked worriedly.

_"I need everybody to come with me." _He answered and looked around to find the girls, but Klaus stopped him.

_"What happened?" _Klaus stressed as he started to worry. Elijah and Katherine stood to come around the table to them and the girls noticed what was going on and started walking over.

_"Listen… Kol and Bonnie are fine, but they're in the hospital. There was a shooting at the celebration. Don't say anything to the girls."_

_"What about Liz?" _Klaus asked quickly looking at Damon's arm.

_"Just don't say anything. I'll explain everything at the hospital." _He said and dropped his head. The girls came up and Damon held up his hand to signal for them to let him explain. _"Listen, I need you both to go talk to your manager and get off work. We all have to go to Mystic Falls. Something happened, but I can't explain it until we're all there; the news hasn't been released yet."_ He explained and Caroline moved closer to look at his arm. She started breathing heavier, wondering why her mom hadn't been the one to come, but didn't ask; with being the sheriff she was probably having to do a million other things. The girls nodded and quickly ran over to get off work. The manager looked up to see the girls' worried faces and Damon in a sling while in uniform and quickly told them to go and he would clock them out. The girls grabbed their bags and changed clothes before following Damon out to the parking lot.

_"Damon… where's my mom?"_

_"She's… in Mystic Falls. I can't say anything else until we get there except we have to go to the hospital; Kol and Bonnie are there with a lot of other people." _He explained and she noticed he had blood on his uniform. She stepped closer to pull at his shirt and Klaus came up to pull her back.

_"Come on love; we have to go." _He stressed and led her to her car and took her keys to drive. Damon went over to his car while Stefan, Rebekah, Elijah, and Katherine went to Stefan's SUV. The drive seemed longer than usual to Caroline and they stayed silent until they pulled into the hospital parking lot. Damon led them to the room that had Bonnie and Kol both in it; Caroline thought it was strange that they had them in the same room, but looked around to see the normally half-empty hospital was full of people in rooms and walking around crying. She felt a panic rising up when she didn't see her mom anywhere and Damon walked over to her.

_"Caroline I need to talk to you." _He said as he led her away from the group, but Klaus followed behind her.

_"Where's mom Damon?"_

_"As you can see, we had a shooting at the celebration. A lot of people were shot…"_

_"Damon, where's my mom?"_

_"Caroline… I never wanted to be the one to tell you, but I promised her I would. We were standing on the stage when Bonnie's dad was giving his speech and the shots rang out. We saw Carol, Tyler, Hayley, Bonnie, Kol, April, Matt, and a few others take the first shots; Bonnie and Kol were the only survivors of that round because Kol threw them from the stage and rolled them under it. We had to get the mayor down and to cover. When we got him to safety, we had to go back out because shots were still being fired. Before we split up, she made me promise that I would come to you and she promised that she would go to Stefan if something happened. We ran in separate directions, but most of the people were already scattering, so I decided to get the wounded out of there. I saw Liz across the square with the same idea before I heard the shots. I saw her go down and I ran to her. She was alive when I got to her, but when I tried to get her out of there, I got hit and she got hit again. She didn't make it out of there." _He explained and she started breathing heavy and shaking her head. Stefan and Rebekah walked out of the room in time to see Caroline falling and Klaus catching her before she hit the ground. He looked over to them and they shook their heads as Rebekah turned into Stefan to start crying. Klaus had to sit himself and Caroline down against the wall as she started trying to run.

_"Shh love, just sit for a minute."_

_"She can't be gone… Damon are you sure? I mean she just can't be…"_

_"I'm sure Caroline. She looks pretty bad, but I have to take you to see her. We already know it's her, but we need her next of kin to claim her. There's only you Caroline that can do this."_

_"Where's she at?" _She whispered as she looked up to him.

_"She's down in the morgue. Klaus, would you come with her? You're not family, but I'll make an exception."_

_"What happened to the shooter?"_

_"He's dead Caroline. It was April's dad; Pastor Young."_

_"Why?"_

_"We don't know for sure. We're investigating what's left of his house and church. He rigged his house and we lost a couple more officers in the blast. The church is fine, but there's not much information there."_

_"Why did he kill April and Matt? She was his daughter and Matt never hurt anybody; he was going to propose to her during Christmas in front of everybody."_

_"She was on stage because she was Miss Mystic Falls this year and Matt was her escort for the event. We don't know if he meant to hit them or not, but we'll do our best to get everything figured out. We've called in some help since our squad is down to 3 people. It looks like he went after everyone that was high ranking or law enforcement."_

_"Just take me to mom." _She whispered as she started staring out at the wall behind him with tears still pouring down her face. Klaus stood behind her and lifted her as he stood. Damon walked them past Stefan and Rebekah as he took them to the elevator. When the doors opened up to the basement, Caroline looked up to see all the gurneys lined up in the hallway leading up to the morgue. _"Is everybody here?"_

_"No. We have another room set up that's full too." _Damon said lowly as he looked around.

_"Damon would you do me a favor?"_

_"What do you need?"_

_"I want to see everybody."_

_"Caroline, it's going to be enough trauma just seeing your mother."_

_"I don't care Damon. Matt and April were my friends. Tyler and his mother were hell for me. I just need to see everybody to make myself believe this is real."_

_"Alright, but you can't say anything about it."_

_"I won't. Did Matt have the ring on him or at home?"_

_"I would think it was at home since it wasn't on him."_

_"Will you let me in there later so I can get it for them before it all gets taken?"_

_"What are you going to do with it?"_

_"Matt wanted April to have it, so I'm going to give it to her. There was also something she gave Matt a while back that I want to make sure is with him. I know where he would put everything, so it won't take 5 minutes to get them and get out."_

_"Sure, I'll help, but you have to put scrubs on your feet and wear gloved and a hair net so you don't leave any evidence. We'll go before you leave. I hate to tell you this, but you're all going to have to stay at the boarding house or a hotel or something. Everyone that died will have their houses combed through."_

_"Alright. Thanks Damon." _She said as he walked up to the first gurney and pulled it back to show April. Caroline smoothed April's hair back before she nodded for Damon to move on. He walked over to the one behind hers to show her Matt. _"Matty…" _She whispered and edged her hand over to his forehead to brush a lock of hair from it. _"We were supposed to make fun of each other when we got old Matt. I was supposed to cheer when you proposed to April and help her get ready when she married you. We were all supposed to have kids and let them grow up together like we did." _She whispered as she let out a sob before bending over and kissing his forehead. _"I'll get the ring to April and I'll get the pocket watch she gave you to you; I promise." _She finished and moved back so Damon could cover him back up. Caroline braced herself against the wall and Klaus came over to her.

_"Love you don't need to put yourself through this."_

_"I have to Klaus… I grew up with all of these people here. It's the only way I can take this in." _She explained as she wiped at her face and Klaus pulled her into him. _"Not yet… I have to do this before I can let myself fall apart. If I start now, I won't stop." _She whispered as she pulled out of his arms and stood up straighter. Klaus gave her a nod and let her lead him to where Damon was standing next. He pulled the sheet back and she saw Carol. She walked over to her and looked her over before she leaned against the gurney and shook her head. _"Even after everything you let happen… you didn't deserve this. I thought I would feel better seeing you like this, but I don't. I don't even think seeing your son gone is going to make me feel like this is all over." _She mused out loud and Damon looked to Klaus. Klaus gave a slight shake before Damon covered her back up and moved over to Tyler. _"When I wanted it to be over, I didn't want this. People may call me crazy, but even you didn't deserve this. You should have had to pay for what you did, but not like this. I never could have saved you from yourself, but now I won't know if you could have been helped. The only thing I want you to take with you from me is that you didn't break me; I'm still here and I'm stronger than ever. I will never be that Caroline again… goodbye Tyler." _She said and backed away without new tears for him. She looked toward Damon and he awkwardly pulled the sheet back over Tyler before leading her into the morgue and walking to a gurney in there. He pulled back the sheet and rubbed Liz's head before stepping back for Caroline. _"I need a minute with her alone."_

_"Sure. I'll get the paper for you to sign. Klaus, would you like to come with me?" _Damon offered and looked to Klaus. Klaus went over and kissed the side of Caroline's head before walking out with Damon.

_"Hey mom. We've been planning break with you. Rebekah and I were going to treat you to a girl's day with the spa, shopping, eating, and going to the salon. We were going to go all out and then take you out later. She's upstairs with Stefan right now, but I guess you know that. We lost dad and I thought I had a long time before I had to lose you too. I'll take care of everything if you say hi to dad for me. I know you want me to stay in school and go on to make my dreams come true, but I just wish you would be there to see it happen. We were supposed to share those memories when they happened. I wanted to look at you when I graduated or got married. If I ever have kids, I wanted them to get to spend time with their grandmother and hear you tell them stories about their grandfather. I'm going to find out why this happened to you; to all of you. It won't make anything better, but I have to know. I love you and I'll always wish I had more time with you, but the time we've had has been the best I could have asked for." _She finished and bent over to kiss her cheek and wrap her arm over her sheet-covered chest. When she thought she was getting close to falling apart she pulled away and went to the door to let Damon know she was done. Klaus wanted to go say a word and went in so Caroline could sign the papers.

_"Hey Liz. I just wanted to thank you for being there for us like you were with your own daughter. You made us all feel like we were your family. I also wanted to thank you for having Rebekah so much when she was in the exchange program. I haven't told Caroline yet, but I am in love with her and I had planned to tell you first before I told her. I'll be there for her however she needs me to be; even if we don't last as a couple. I can promise you that. I hope we stay a couple though; I haven't felt this close to someone before and I don't want to lose that. You surprised me when you approved of me; I don't remember another mother approving of me with their daughter. I'll do my best by her and try to make her as happy as possible." _He finished and wiped the tear that had escaped during his talk before covering her back up and walking out the door. Damon looked in and saw she was covered before leading them back out. When they were in the elevator, Damon decided to explain more to Caroline to pull her out of her thoughts.

_"I'm going to take you back up to see Bonnie and Kol again before you go. Bonnie's still in a coma and they won't know more until she wakes up. They say the odds are looking better than earlier. Kol's injuries aren't extensive as hers are, so he'll be out in a couple days. When you're done, I'll take you to Matt's and then I have to go into the station and start working on everything again. Stefan has a key, so he'll let you in at the house and get you all squared away there. Tomorrow I'll need you to be at the town hall. The mayor is discussing with the families about the burials; whether they should all be in one long ceremony with everyone talking or individually. If everyone votes individually, there will still be a candlelight ceremony in the square where anyone can say something about the… victims." _Damon finished and Caroline looked over at him and tried to say something but she croaked and a strangled sound came out. She shook her head and cleared her throat before trying again.

_"Why? All it' going to do is hurt everyone more."_

_"So we can remember the good through this. He's worried that Bonnie won't make it, so he's doing what he can to be the mayor and a father whose daughter is in ICU."_

_"She has to make it Damon. We've all lost too much for us to lose her too. I can't think even begin to think about that." _She finished as she closed her eyes and fell into the wall with her hands on her head as she tried to get her breathing back under control.

_"Just hang on love. Bonnie's strong like you, so I feel she's going to pull through. Do you think Kol is going to leave that room until she does? We'll know how she is; even if we aren't here the whole time. You need to try and stay calm a little longer; just focus on your breathing. I know you can do this love."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because I haven't met anyone as strong as you. I've seen what you've been through and watched as you put all the pieces back together. Now, do you remember you had that feeling all day? Do you have that feeling when you think of Bonnie?"_

_"No."_

_"I think she's going to be okay love. I think that feeling you got was from what happened already. If something else was going to happen to her, I'd think you'd feel it."_

_"I'm not psychic Klaus."_

_"I'm not saying you are love. I'm saying that sometimes people just feel when something's going to happen." _He finished and put his hands on her cheeks to make her look at him. He breathed and she copied him until she was better before he gave her a quick chaste kiss and pulled her into his side to walk her the rest of the way into Bonnie's room. Damon opened the door for them and they saw Stefan and Rebekah both crying in a chair on Kol's side of the room. Caroline stepped in between the beds so she could look at both Bonnie and Kol. She picked up their charts to see how far the injuries went and saw that Damon had been right about Kol; Kol had been shot in the spleen and in the arm, so he was already on the mend from having his spleen taken out and the bullet pulled out of his arm. Bonnie was definitely more serious since she had been shot more and one of the bullets had grazed her skull. She had already had surgery to fix her lung from a bullet and take out a little of her intestines from the damage. She looked at everybody before turning back to sit on Bonnie's bed and talk to them both.

_"Alright you two… I didn't spend all that time helping you both come together for you to die on me too. Kol, you will get your overbearing ass better because we wouldn't be the same without you annoying us to no end. Bonnie, we've been friends since we were babies and you will wake your skinny ass up because I'm about to lose it. Kol has straightened up so much since he's known you; he's hardly the same Kol I met when school started. I know you can hear me in there; we used to talk about coma patients when dad fell into one before he died. You told me to talk to him then, so I'm talking to you now. You are going to wake up, you are going to finish school, you and Kol are going to keep exploring each other and you are going to live a long life because I'll be damned if I'm stuck with just Elena from the sandbox." _She paused for a sad laugh. _"You got to wake up Bon. I can't say goodbye to Matty, April, and my mom without you. I'm not going to say goodbye to you too. Do you hear me Bonnie? You are not allowed to go because when I die I will find you and kick your ass. And I'm going to have Kol preaching to you if I'm not here to do it myself, so you might as well start waking up." _She finished and picked up Bonnie's hand to play with the bracelet on her wrist as she reached for the tissues nearby. _"Come on Bonnie, just wake up…" _She whispered and looked at the machines to see if there was any change when she talked to her. She gave a light squeeze to her hand to let Bonnie know she was still there before looking back up at her. _"You know Kol is going to be okay. Damon said he saw him pull you under the stage for cover. I'll be thanking him when he wakes up from the meds. He wouldn't let them put him in any other room but yours. After waiting all this time to find someone to be there for you like that… would you really leave like this? You have to wake up for him too. And for Rebekah… who else are we going to take shopping with us if it isn't you?" _She kept rambling and Rebekah came over to sit with her and Bonnie. She interlocked her arms with Caroline's before turning to look at Bonnie.

_"She's right you know. We wouldn't take anybody else shopping with us. And you're good for my brother Bonnie. He's so much happier with having something real with you than he was when he was being an idiot. He's always talking about you when he isn't with you or talking to you. I wouldn't be surprised if you were the one he married someday, but you won't know if you don't wake up for us. We can't stay but a few minutes, so we'll be back to talk to you some more in the morning." _She finished as she stood back up to go back over to Stefan as he stood to leave. Klaus came over and put a hand on Caroline's arm to help her stand, but she held up a finger. She gave another squeeze before placing Bonnie's hand back at her side and standing to lean and give a kiss to her cheek. She walked over and looked at Kol again before placing a hand on his uninjured arm.

_"We'll be back tomorrow Kol and then you got to talk to Bonnie with us." _She whispered as she picked her hand back up and walked backwards to Klaus. He put an arm around her shoulders and he led her outside where she saw Bonnie's dad and Damon talking. Damon spotted them and waved them over.

_"Bonnie's dad just asked me to take over the sheriff's position so we can start getting new officers. I told him I wanted to ask you first."_

_"Damon I had nothing to do with the force."_

_"I know but Liz was your mom and my friend; even if she didn't always like me."_

_"I think she would like for you to be the sheriff. You're good at law enforcement; and I never thought I would be able to say that. But, after hearing everything and how you handled it, I wouldn't want to see anyone else take the job. Just make sure you do a good job and everyone will be alright with it." _She finished and he turned to let the mayor speak next.

_"Hey Caroline. I haven't seen you for a while. I wish we were seeing each other on different circumstances. You're mother and Damon saved my life today, and your mother has been my friend for ages; like you and… Bonnie. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. I hear Kol refused to be put in another room?"_

_"Yes sir." _Damon spoke and then used his hand to signal Klaus. _"This is Klaus. He's one of Kol's brothers."_

_"When your brother wakes up, I intend to thank him for pulling my daughter under the stage with him. I wanted to get to her, but I got pulled away. She's told me a lot about him and I think he's a good young man. I'm proud of his actions for my daughter and I hope you feel just as proud. If you'll excuse me, I'm going to see Bonnie for a minute before I head over and get started on the meeting tomorrow."_

_"Sir, I just want to thank you for speaking highly of my brother. It doesn't happen often, but I know he really likes your daughter. He's improved a lot since he's been talking to her and seeing her. She brings out the best in him and we're all wishing for a speedy recovery for her." _Klaus spoke quickly so the mayor could go see Bonnie; he knew he was busy. _"Also, our parents work with the government in D.C. If you need help, we can call and have them contact you. They'll probably be wondering anyway since Kol was shot during the ceremony too."_

_"When they hear about your brother, you can give them my number. If they want to help us, we'll take it. We lost a lot of officials and officers today, so they might know how to help us along so we keep order around here. Thank you again, but I have to go; Caroline knows my number, so she can give it to you when you need it." _He finished before he opened the door to his daughter's room and walked in. Klaus turned to Caroline and she pulled out her phone to send the number to Klaus' phone for later. She looked to Damon and he gave her a nod before they headed for the parking lot. Klaus and Caroline followed behind Damon as he drove to Matt's house. She put on the stuff Damon gave her before reaching down under the mat for the spare key and entered the house. Klaus and Damon stayed outside to wait on her. It only took her about 2 minutes to come back out with the ring box and pocket watch. She handed them to Damon and told him to hold on to them so they could go in their caskets. Damon told her to take them to the boarding house and have Stefan put them in the safe and she nodded. After she locked back up, she put the key back and they left for the boarding house. When they got there Stefan, Rebekah, Elijah, and Katherine were waiting on them. She walked over to Stefan and gave him the ring and watch to put up in the safe. He looked at her sadly before nodding and running off to do as she instructed. Klaus tried to get Caroline to sit with him, but she wanted to stand; she couldn't stop pacing as she tried to figure out how it had all happened. She eventually stopped and looked around for a piece of paper. When she started organizing things around, everyone got up to look at what she was doing.

_"What are you doing love?"_

_"I'm trying to figure out how everything is connected. There has to be something I'm not thinking of."_

_"What are you talking about?" _Stefan asked as he watched his friend look around the room again and ran over to the logs Damon had on the shelf. She began pulling down book after book before bringing back a stack with her to the table.

_"Everybody knows everybody here Stefan. There has to be something I'm missing that explains what triggered this."_

_"Caroline he could have just snapped or was insane." _Rebekah added as she started to worry about her.

_"Rebekah, you met Pastor Young when you were here before. He wasn't ever insane and he never did anything without a reason."_

_"Miss Forbes, you're in grieving… maybe you should rest and let the officials handle this."_

_"Elijah, there are only 3 officers left and the mayor. Everyone else that is supposed to figure this out are dead. I know I can figure this out… I grew up here with these people; I literally knew everybody. Klaus, don't be upset, but I'm going to have to ask Damon to get me into the Lockwood property before Mason shows up. I know where everything is in there and I just want to look for something."_

_"What are you looking for love?"_

_"Records. Pastor Young went after all the town officials and the law enforcement. Carol was the mayor until Bonnie's dad took over. There has to be something there that would connect every one of his targets. Maybe she knew something or did something that tied everyone in together. Maybe she blackmailed him about something and he thought that she told everyone. This is something bigger than a random killing spree. Think about it… he killed his own daughter in this. April was Miss Mystic Falls and she would have to be with Carol a lot before the mayor switched to Bonnie's dad. She could have known what it was and he would have taken her and Matt out to keep it covered. My mom was the sheriff and had been friends with Carol since they were kids. Damon is on the force, but he's not from here with roots that tie in to anyone else; he only got shot when he tried to help my mom. Stefan call Damon and have him send units to each officer's house and each town official's house; they might be wired to blow and we can't have any more deaths." _She instructed quickly and looked around the room again. She ran over to shelf again and climbed to reach the copy of the town's treasury log. She nearly fell off as she opened the book and started skimming through.

_"Love, what are you looking for?" _Klaus asked as he followed her as she walked.

_"His motive. Money is one motive and it's common in murder cases. I used to look at everything my mom brought home when she would fall asleep. I always saw cases as puzzles that needed to be pieced together, and I'm addicted to puzzles as much as clothes, but I never wanted this for a job." _She answered as she started putting sticky note tabs next to different items on the list. When she saw familiar figures, she tapped her pen and wrote on the sticky tabs before placing them. Then she started seeing funds for things the town hadn't done or didn't have and marked them another color. _"Stefan, call your brother."_

_"Care, what is it?"_

_"Look at these funds and what they're for." _She pointed to the different tabs. He looked at them and then looked at her confused. _"Do you see what I'm showing you?"_

_"Not really."_

_"Look at what the funds is for again and tell me when you've seen those items or events in town." _She explained as she rolled her eyes. Stefan examined them again and looked to her quickly as realization kicked in.

_"The town doesn't have those here."_

_"Correct; which means she was using the money she requested for something else. I was looking at some of the numbers too and I recognize a couple. Some of the events that she supposedly funded from her family's money was actually town money; I remember having to help her plan them out and figure up the bill for everything as Miss Mystic Falls. There's one amount that ranges around what her husband's funeral costs, but I don't know if the town money would have been used for that or not because he was mayor when he died. However, there is one amount I know from a couple months ago. Tyler's tuition was the same amount as what she requested for repairs to some of the structures in town. These records were in the hands of every officer of the law, but the longer standing officials would have known more about them or would have had to browse them more often. The town officials would have had them as well; including Pastor Young. This could have been towards the Lockwoods or it could have been a hit towards the founding families." _She summarized and looked around. Stefan looked up at her before pulling out his phone and calling Damon.

_"What is it brother? I'm still having officers sent out and coming in."_

_"Caroline's still in detective mode; she may have figured something out. She was looking at the logs from your records and pulled out the treasury log. Mrs. Lockwood was receiving funds for things the town doesn't have or for hosting events she was supposed to pay for. Tyler's tuition was another thing that showed up under building repairs. Another thing Damon… she thinks it might be bigger than just the Lockwoods; it may be the founding families he was going after."_

_"Shit! That sounds like it… a lot of the officers and people dead were related to or part of the original founding families. But why go after Bonnie's dad and Bonnie? They're not founding families."_

_"Bonnie's mom's family was from here… they would have been slaves when the town was founded." _Caroline rang in from beside him.

_"Caroline… you're part of the founding families… and one of a couple left alive."_

_"Damon don't go to my house; just block off the areas around founding family houses and call for a bomb squad or something to take a look. Although, if that was the case, wouldn't Matt's house have been wired?"_

_"Not from the front. Matt always went in the back after he parked his truck. And he would have known that Matt would have been with April on the stage. He started with the people on the stage before picking through the crowd, but he started at the top and worked his way down."_

_"Well the Donovan's and Young's lines are completely ended now. The Lockwoods still have Mason from Tyler's dad's side, so he might need to be checked up on."_

_"We've been trying to reach him since it happened. There's no answer, so we called the sheriff's station there and passed the message to them."_

_"Have they called back yet?"_

_"No."_

_"Damon, I'm going to come into the station. You all need some volunteers and I know what to look for."_

_"Caroline you can't do that."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Well for one, you need to rest and grieve. Two, you aren't a part of the force. Three, you're the last of the Forbes' bloodline. Neither of your parents have any surviving family except you. If it's a hit, then anywhere you would go could be a trap."_

_"So that means we have to check, not only my mother's house, but ours as well. You might want to have my mother's office checked then; as well as the rest of the offices there."_

_"The offices are fine; I've been in and out of everyone."_

_"Have you pulled open every drawer and cabinet?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Okay so the station is clear. I'm going there and you might want to call whoever is there to let me in."_

_"Caroline… no one's there but the dispatcher to answer calls."_

_"Damon I'm going to help on this. And as much as you hate to admit it… I know more about this town and the people in it than you would find in any books or houses. I need access to more information and I can't do that unless you give me a pass before the FBI comes to town. They're not going to look at it like we will; it's just another case to them."_

_"You're too close to this Caroline."_

_"You're right about this being close, but I'm not doing this because it's personal. Do you have any idea what will happen to this town if the FBI comes in and tears it up with an investigation? The media is going to follow them and then this town will go down the drain and disappear. I just want to get a head start so it won't be so bad. The more we find out before they get here, the less they have to search and the faster this will be over and them gone."_

_"I can take you on as a consultant, but that's it. It will keep your name out of it. When the FBI shows up, you're done."_

_"Thanks Damon. Come pick me up." _She said and grabbed her jacket to put it on before gathering everything she had worked on put together.

_"Love it will only give you a day… two days max." _Klaus said as he tried to think of a way to keep her out of it and safe.

_"That's all I need."_

_"This isn't going to bring her back love… it's just going to make it hurt that much more."_

_"Klaus you can either support my decision or not, but I'm doing this. If we're right about the founding families, that means I could still be a target and the safest place for all of you is away from me. Don't go home until we can get it checked out. I'll also have Damon track any packages or mail he could have sent out the last few days to be sure. If I counted it up right, there's only about 3 or 4 remaining people including myself that are left. If something happened to Mason there's less, but I've got to do this. The founding families have been looked to since they started this town, and I'm not going to stand back and let someone handle this. Stefan… your family is on the charter too. I saw the Salvatore name when I was at the founder's party. Since your family moved away for a while before coming back generations later, you should be safe, but get everybody to a motel." _She finished and moved everything to the table by the door.

_"What do you mean my family was there?"_

_"This land has been in your family since the 1800s. The family you are descended from helped build this town. I was curious and looked up old contracts and things and your family were into the building constructions and lumber yards."_

_"I knew we had the lumber mill, but I thought that was later."_

_"That one was later; I'm talking about the original one in town. There's just one thing I can't figure out… how did he get everything organized? He didn't have a gun or license or own one. He didn't know how to make bombs or even organize something this big. He wouldn't have even known where to look without help; which means he had a partner. So… who would know all of this and be able to pull this off?"_

_"Caroline you're the smartest person I know from here."_

_"He was a pastor… he could have met someone away from here on one of his church trips. I need his books from the church to see though. Wait a minute… didn't he start that new support group over in the next county?"_

_"Yeah… where are you going with this Care?"_

_"We need his visitation logs; who he saw, when, how much. They won't release that information too easily with a confidentiality agreement for each patient. Unless the person helping him with the information died today, we've got nothing to use." _She explained and heard Damon pull in. When he came in the door, she quickly explained everything to him about the logs and his family. When she told him about his family, he snapped his head up and looked to his brother before calling up the hotel to reserve some rooms for everybody. Caroline kept racking her brain trying to figure out who could have known enough to help the pastor when she got an idea and told Damon to stop at the Lockwoods. Since they were worried about the house being wired, Caroline used an alternative way in from when she had been dating Tyler in school and had to sneak in. Damon stayed right behind her while everyone else waited in the car. Klaus was barely being kept in the car while Caroline was inside, so Stefan tried to distract him.

_"Klaus, she'll be fine. She knows how to get in and out of there without using a door, and Damon's with her."_

_"That may be, but I should be in there with her."_

_"Klaus, this is one of those things she has to do without you."_

_"No it isn't mate. This is one of those things where she needs help more than ever." _Klaus answered and turned to look at Stefan. _"You've lived here for a little while Stefan… what was this guy like?"_

_"Normal, for lack of a better word. His wife died a couple years back and then it was just him, April, and the church."_

_"There's a lot of deaths for such a small town, don't you think?"_

_"Our town has a bad case of drunk driving and hunting accidents. Then there are natural causes and other accidents."_

_"Are you sure they're all accidents and natural causes? It seems to me like the last few years have brought a lot of deaths for people that are still young or youngish."_

_"Did everybody start dying before or after the pastor's wife?"_

_"After."_

_"I think we found another motive." _He said and dialed Caroline's number to tell her what they were onto. Once they had everything repeated, Caroline said they were almost done in the house and that they would be bringing what they'd gathered. When the call ended, Caroline looked to Damon and told him they were going to make a couple more stops before they went to the hotel; she wanted to go to town hall, the hospital, and the church. After going back to the hospital, they went to town hall where Caroline saw Bonnie's dad and ran over to explain her thoughts. Caroline was thankful that he believed her theories and granted them access to what they would need in town. They left from there and told everybody in the car about the conversation as they headed for the church. Damon lifted the police tape for her and they crossed over the threshold. She looked through his office repeatedly before announcing she was going to the storage room. Damon noticed the direction she was heading and stopped her.

_"Where are you going?"_

_"I told you I was going to the storage room."_

_"You're going to wrong way."_

_"No, I'm not. You have to go through the Sunday school area to get to it." _She stated and Damon froze.

_"Caroline, the only storage area I knew about was the attic. I didn't see any other door in the room for Sunday school."_

_"Well there is one. It's on the other side of the room from when you walk in. I went to Sunday school Damon; I can remember the room."_

_"You show me where it's at and then we're going back to the car to wait on a squad to come through. They're at your house right now; they found something there in a package marked for your mother."_

_"Why for her? He shot her today."_

_"Maybe he thought you would open it when you got back from school. The unit at your house with the others found a letter addressed to you from the pastor. They're bringing it to the lab to test for toxins before we open it. If there's any there I would guess he didn't want to risk killing anybody not connected to town."_

_"Could be. Something just doesn't sit right with all of this… Damon… Mason was the driver that was drinking when Mrs. Young was killed."_

_"What?"_

_"Yeah. He was underage, so he got less time and when he was released, he wasn't allowed to come back. Mr. Lockwood threatened him if he ever came back, but sent his share of the family's money to him."_

_"How did you know that?"_

_"Tyler told me about it when we were dating."_

_"That explains the Lockwoods and the judge."_

_"My mom was the one who did the report and arrested Mason, but she thought he should have done more time and lost out on his inheritance. Mr. Lockwood even threatened my mom's job that night, but my father stopped him."_

_"Well we know your dad's death was natural. Mr. Lockwood was a heart attack…"_

_"In the middle of a town event." _Caroline interrupted.

_"Yes. We have everybody's autopsy reports in the car. We'll browse through them in a little while. We need to get you outside and then to the motel. You aren't working on this anywhere but there for now."_

_"Fine." _She huffed and they walked outside to wait. Klaus noticed they didn't get back in the car and opened the door. _"We have to wait on someone to check for bombs. Damon wasn't aware there used to be a storage room in the Sunday school room."_

_"Love, it's getting ready to be morning. You need to get some sleep."_

_"I know, but I'm really close to something. They found a package at my mom's house addressed to her and they found a letter at ours addressed to me. I'm in this no matter what I do, so I'm going to figure this out."_

_"At least let me help you love."_

_"We're taking this stuff to the hotel to read through it before we do anything big. We just got to wait until we can look in the storage room and see if there's anything in there that will help." _She finished as Damon's phone rung and the squad showed up. Damon followed them inside and Klaus held on to Caroline by the car. Damon stepped out, but the others remained, and walked over to where Klaus and Caroline were standing.

_"Caroline, you're going to want to see this, but you have to wait until it's clear. He's got a lot of things mapped out on boards. I've already called Dr. Fell and warned her to not go home and to come meet at the hotel in an hour."_

_"Why Dr. Fell besides the fact she's a founding family member?"_

_"Not only is she a possible target, but she's a possible suspect."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because some of the deaths we thought were natural aren't natural; they were planned. On the list of victims were Elena's parents. Both were founding family and Grayson was a doctor. I'm waiting on the squad to check her home and to get search warrant to check her home."_

_"Dr. Fell didn't sign off on any of the recent deaths though. She just came back to town when her father died so she could work at the hospital. You need to check his house if you're going to check hers."_

_"Alright now, Caroline I need you to stay calm and focus that neurotic control freak mind of yours on one thing at a time. Get the autopsy reports out of the car and check the doctor that signed them. If we have the same one, we have our suspect or suspects if it's just the Fells."_

_"Alright." _She breathed and reached in the trunk to pull out a box. She started looking at the files and noticed that only Elena's dad and Dr. Fell's dad had signed any of them. Then she remembered that they don't always run a toxin screening if it appears natural. She showed Damon what she found and he was still skeptical about Dr. Fell's innocence, so he told her to just look for anything else unusual. She started laying the files across the trunk and organizing them in order of death. Then she came across the autopsy report for Logan Fell and she gasped. She read the cause of death as suicide and thought back to hearing the news about it.

_"What is it?"_

_"I think you're right Damon. I couldn't tie her to any of the reports, but her brother committed suicide according to the report a few years ago. Dr. Grayson did the report. Logan and Meredith are related so I bet she has his stuff. We also need to talk to the TV station and find out what he was working on when he died. I'll cross reference what we find with what we know. There has to be a connection there. Have her brought in for questioning and I'll stay behind the glass." _She said as she started putting the reports back into the box. _"How much longer do you think they'll take in there?"_

_"A while."_

_"Okay. That gives us some time to go to the TV station before you question her."_

_"Caroline, look at everybody. They're tired. We need to get them to the hotel before anything else."_

_"Shit! You're right. Klaus… do you want to go with me or go get some rest?"_

_"I want to go with you love."_

_"Stefan, can you drive everyone to the hotel? Klaus can ride with me and Damon's got his cruiser."_

_"Sure Care. Be careful though; you're still founding family."_

_"Stefan I don't think we're targets anymore. I'm missing the link, but I have a feeling about Logan. I'm wondering if it was a suicide or a cover-up for something else. If Logan's death wasn't a suicide and it was a cover-up it would give Meredith a motive for revenge. If that's the case, then what the pastor did was for revenge as well. Damon, call Elena and ask her if she ever saw any of her dad's case files from the office."_

_"Why?"_

_"Have you talked to her today?"_

_"Not since I told her about Bonnie."_

_"Shouldn't she have come here then?"_

_"Shit!"_

_"What about Jeremy?"_

_"I haven't seen him today; or Anna."_

_"Could they be with Elena?"_

_"No; I think they went to Denver."_

_"We need to call them all; like now Damon." _She said as she pulled out her phone and dialed Elena's number. It went to voicemail after a couple rings and she tried again. When they couldn't reach her, she called the office and the school and had them run by her dorm room, but she wasn't there. Caroline called Jeremy and he picked up, but he hadn't talked to Elena all day and hadn't known what had happened. They called the hospital to see if Elena had gone in there to visit Bonnie, but they hadn't seen her either. _"Damon, was Meredith at the scene or at the hospital when this happened?"_

_"At the hospital starting her shift."_

_"When did you call Elena?"_

_"Right before I left to come tell you about… your mother."_

_"Then where is she?"_

_"Have you called Bonnie's dad? She could have gone there." _She shook her head and dialed the mayor. When he told her that Elena had been with him since right after their visit, she breathed in relief and told Damon. They all relaxed a little and she told him to tell her to not go home, but to stay with the mayor until later. Damon started writing down all the addresses he needed the squad to go to and walked back inside. Klaus and Caroline gave their goodbyes to everyone else before they left and then turned to each other.

_"Caroline, why do you think you and the Salvatores aren't targets?"_

_"It wouldn't add up because the only thing we have in common is that we're founding families. We've never done anything that required a cover-up of any kind."_

_"Except for what Tyler did to you love."_

_"Meredith's dad was the one who treated me that night; Meredith was there for a visit too. I remember because she had tried to talk to me and I couldn't talk to anybody."_

_"It would explain why you weren't killed love."_

_"Now I want to know what's in that letter the pastor sent to me." _She said and started shaking her head. _"This is just so messed up. If anything, me covering up what Tyler did to me she have made me a target if he was going after the Lockwoods."_

_"We'll know later love."_

_"Fuck! Whether Damon likes or not I'm going to have to talk to the FBI. Once we find out if I was or wasn't a target, they're going to go looking into my medical records and see everything. You do realize that all of that is going to make me a person of interest don't you?"_

_"You didn't do anything love."_

_"I know I didn't do anything; I'm just stating the obvious facts here."_

_"It'll get figured out love. Besides, when is the last time you've spoken to either of them?"_

_"I haven't seen or spoken to either of them for a long time. Meredith was when she tried to talk to me in the hospital and the pastor was right before that; I didn't go back to church after I lost the baby and Meredith wasn't at the hospital any time I was after that." _She explained and looked down. Damon came back out and told them to come in. When they walked in, they saw everyone's picture except Klaus' and his family on the board. Caroline walked over to where she saw herself and looked at it. Damon put his gloves on and picked up a note that was lying on the desk to put it in an evidence bag and read it. He turned it so Klaus and Caroline could read what it said as well.

**All will figure out why I chose to clean out the town of so many people, but I will make it easier for them. I chose to lead people with faith, but this town has tested my own. I've given everything I had to try and inspire people to live their lives right, but what did that give me? Mason Lockwood drives into her while drinking, but since he was a minor and a LOCKWOOD he barely serves any time and he's still living the high life. My daughter was raised right, but she chose to be with Matthew Donovan when his sister killed herself doing the same thing Mason was doing that killed her mother, but since Matthew and Vicki were founding families, they weren't expected to act as such. Vicki ruined their lives with drinking and drugs, and even if Matthew didn't choose that life presently, I will not risk my daughter being involved in that at a later time. Sometimes we are called to sacrifice the ones we love the most so that others may learn to not follow the masses of the community. There will be only a few that survive my vengeance on this town and its founding families, but all will share in their grief. Our dear Mrs. Lockwood was stealing money from the town to further expand the fortunes of her own family to carry on her husband's work. The Lockwood heir is as rotten to the core as them both and will not be given leniency whether or not he knew of his parents affairs. He has his own misdeeds that will haunt him as his family rots in the depths of hell. Our officers of the law and the judges carry out their day doing theirs tasks, but they never dig too deep or punish accordingly. My dear Meredith had shown me the depths of betrayal this town has sunken to and I will not tolerate it any longer. The founding families built this town to be for family, honor, prosperity, and God. It has become a town full of murderers, thieves, liars, and the devil. I will deliver them unto judgment for their sins. There may be a few that will get caught in the cross fire, and I will regret that, but their lives are left to God to decide their fates.**

They read the note over and over before Damon started taking pictures of everything and bagging it. When everything was bagged, he put it all in a couple boxes and put them in the cruiser. He told them to head over to the police station because he had to go arrest Meredith. She had him wait long enough to call the TV station and have them get everything they had of Logan Fell's and told them Caroline would pick it up for him. She and Klaus drove over to the TV station before driving to the police station to see Damon punching the wall.

_"Damon! What happened?"_

_"You remember I told you I told Meredith to come here in an hour?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well she didn't. She drove straight home and shot herself in the head."_

_"We brought Logan's stuff from the station."_

_"She had her note laying on a box with his name on it." _He said as he handed up another evidence bag for them to read.

**I wasn't at the shooting because we knew there would be people caught in the crossfire that was not aimed for. I went to start my shift knowing what it would be like. There were a few people that passed that were not targets and I'm sorry that they died, but I still believe what we planned was right. Out of the injured, if they were a target, they won't survive the night. If they live through the night, everyone will know they aren't a target and can learn from this day. I knew it was only a matter of time before the remaining police connected the dots, so I will depart knowing my work is done. My brother did not kill himself. He was working on a story that would expose the Lockwoods for their crimes. I've gathered everything together for the police to comb through and investigate properly. Since the police force is barely functioning now, outside officers will have to be brought in to do the job and the truth will come out. We wanted to clean up this town and we did that, so it's time we rest knowing vengeance is served.**

_"Why not just go to outside agencies instead of killing everybody?" _Caroline mused out loud. She looked to Damon to see he was still fuming. He handed her another evidence bag and she saw it was addressed to her.

**Caroline Forbes,**

**I had wondered why you had stopped coming to church and thought it was your relationship with Tyler or school that had caused you to sway from your path. By now you're aware of the plans Meredith and I made in town. You were a target originally because of your relationship with Tyler, but after Meredith showed me your medical records, I feel that your punishment has already been given. Your mother is not as fortunate as you to avoid the fate I have designed for her. She was good in many ways, but she failed to fulfill her duties to the full power of the law she was given as Sheriff. Instead of bringing down the wrongdoers of this town, she befriended them and has to pay for her sins. May you remember the price she paid so you do not follow in her footsteps as you have before. May you also find your path again before it's too late for salvation.**

Caroline read the note over and over before showing her the ones for both Salvatores, both the Gilberts, and a couple others that had come in before they arrived.

_"Did anyone else die last night?"_

_"A couple people died at the hospital shortly after Meredith left her shift; she gave them an overdose."_

_"What about Bonnie or Kol?"_

_"They're both alive and the same as we left them. The mayor and Elena are on the way. There's a letter for him too, but it's just telling him to be a better leader than the Lockwoods."_

_"So that's it then? The pastor and Meredith both go murderous with revenge and crazy bible talk, so they kill everybody. And what the hell does he mean that I've already been punished? I never did anything to anyone. I only ever kept what Tyler did to me a secret because it was my business and I tried to help him stop." _She asked and explained. Damon gave her a sad look and handed her another evidence bag that she nearly fell over from looking at. _"How did he get this?" _She asked looking at the ultrasound photo taped to the incident where Tyler had pushed her down the stairs.

_"I would assume Meredith gave him copies. You were given an ultrasound photo when you found out right?"_

_"Yes, but I didn't keep it after I lost the baby." _She finished in a whisper. She closed her eyes and put her hands on her hips before looking back up. _"When I got home, I burned the copy I had because I didn't want to risk anyone finding it."_

_"So this would be a copy of the one in your chart. Meredith had access and could have pulled it to make a copy. There's something else. The autopsy report came back on Hayley; she was 6 weeks pregnant. I called the hospital and found out she had confirmed her pregnancy a couple days ago while she and Tyler were here for the ceremony. Meredith was the doctor that checked her out, so it explains why Hayley died with the Lockwoods. To give another interesting mix on this… Mason Lockwood was found butchered to his kitchen table a little while ago with a note. He was the first to die according to the initial report; they said he'd been dead for a couple days."_

_"What do you need me to do?" _Caroline asked.

_"Well I called the FBI and told them we just got everything figured out and the suspects are dead, so they are cancelling their trip here. I'll investigate Logan's death myself and see what I can find. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I can't really use your help anymore Caroline. You're not on the force officially and that means you can't help me legally. As a friend you can get us all a cup of coffee and help me make some calls. I have to have some people exhumed to be given another report if it will help with anything. I have to have family permission to do that, so I need my people person on that job. Klaus, I could use some muscle with carrying everything around here if you want to do something. I'll have help coming in later and we can all go and get some sleep. The bomb squad has already checked the boarding house and they're done at Liz's house, so it's up to everybody where they're staying at after the hotel check-out time."_

_"Well I will brew a pot of coffee and then start making the calls. Give me a list of names to contact while I make the coffee."_

_"Well we need the mayor to okay Mr. Lockwood since there are no more Lockwoods. He and Elena will be here soon, so she can sign for her parents…" _Damon trailed off as all of their phones went off for a text alert. They each looked at each other before checking and seeing that Bonnie had woken up and the mayor and Elena were on their way to the hospital.

_"Can we get the papers ready and meet them there?" _Caroline asked and looked up at Damon.

_"Yes, we need to go there again anyway. They're the only people we need signatures from, so we'll get to do two things at once. I also need to come up with a report so the mayor gave give a statement to the media and I can give details. I don't know what to say."_

_"Stick as close to the truth as you can, but don't go too far into details. You do actually want people to live here instead of this town disappearing."_

_"Would you help me with that? You're good at speeches. We could actually use a PR."_

_"I'll help you, but I like my current job and I'm in college for something else. I don't want this life Damon; I never did. One of my biggest fears happened yesterday. Go, it's not even been a whole day yet… but it's daylight again."_

_"Which fear?"_

_"That mom would die on the job and not come home again." _Caroline explained and Klaus pulled her into him while Damon dropped his head.

_"Love, forget the coffee. I'll buy us some on the way. You just need to rest; you've not been in bed for nearly 2 days now."_

_"I'll rest later; I promise, but mom would be doing the same thing right now if it had been me. Plus, Bonnie finally listened and woke up. I have to see her and know that's she's alright; the same goes for Kol too. Elijah has probably already called your parents, so I also have to prepare in case they decide to show up."_

_"They probably won't come love. You'd be worrying for nothing if you were thinking about them coming."_

_"This is not how I want to meet your parents Klaus, so if they show up just hide me away and say I'm grieving or something. I'm getting to that point where the distractions aren't working and I'm about to lose it. I still have to call into work and everything. The only things helping at this point is that you're here and we just officially started break from classes. So, when I stop moving and keeping busy, it's going to hit and I'm going to go insane."_

_"Love just keep calm. I know what's coming for you and I know that you're going to pull out of it when you've had time to mourn. It's normal to feel this way. I'm here and I'm not leaving your side no matter what, so just take your time." _He finished and she nodded before resting her head on his chest. Damon finished getting the paperwork drawn up and they all made their ways to the hospital. When Caroline walked in, Bonnie had been taken off of the ventilator and given a mask and Caroline cried as she walked over to sit on the bed near her. She looked her over, afraid to touch her, before putting Bonnie's hand in hers and bending over to put it against her forehead. Bonnie tried to talk, but she could barely whisper without rasping or being in pain, so Caroline told her to just rest and get better. She didn't tell her about anybody because she wanted Bonnie to be in better health before she knew. She walked over to Kol and saw he was sitting up and had been watching Bonnie. She reached her arms out and Kol maneuvered to give her a hug. She thanked him for getting Bonnie out when he did and he nodded. She told Kol to keep quiet about any news he heard until Bonnie was better enough to hear it. He nodded and she got up to let Klaus sit with his brother. She gave Klaus a hug and kiss before going back to Bonnie. When everyone else arrived, Klaus repeated the instructions to them before he, Caroline, and Damon left again. Elijah and Katherine decided to join them and help out since they had gotten some rest and the others hadn't.

It was nearly nightfall when everybody was able to go back to the boarding house to get some sleep. The families had agreed to doing all of the funerals together and having the mayor speak the main parts of the ceremony before letting the families speak about their lost loved one. When everybody had spoken, there would be the school choir sing a song for them and then a moment of silence before the mayor would finish the ceremony. The school had offered the gym for the service since there were so many victims to be mourned, and the mayor had accepted. Caroline laid in bed curled up to Klaus, but she couldn't sleep with all the thoughts in her head. She had helped Damon come up with a speech to give to the press, but he was on his own with any questions from them. Then the mayor had her and the other family members give their wishes for the funeral. Damon had also managed to get the videos of everything from the ceremony and the shooting, but he hadn't shown them to anybody that wasn't official law enforcement; including the home videos like Kol's. They were going to release some of the video footage to the news for the official story, but they made sure to make a copy that didn't show any of the victims getting shot. When Caroline managed to fall asleep, she was plagued by nightmares that kept waking her up screaming and Klaus would wake up and try to soothe her.

The next morning, they all went over to the hospital while Damon went to the station to get started tying everything up. When they walked into the room with Kol and Bonnie, Caroline immediately noticed an older couple in the room and froze. Klaus felt her tense up and leaned over to whisper I her ear that it was his parents, but not to worry about them. He stood next to her as she went to sit next to Bonnie and see how she was that day. She looked over at Kol for a moment to see him sitting up and sorting through a bag she guessed is parents brought him. Bonnie gave her a weak smile when she turned back to her and whispered that she knew what had happened; Elena had told her earlier. Caroline started leaking a few tears when Bonnie asked her why she didn't tell her the day before, and she said that she didn't want to put that news on her while she had just came out of her coma. Bonnie started asking why it had all happened because her father and Elena hadn't explained everything. Caroline braced herself to tell her as much as she could, but she had to stop repeatedly as she tried to control her breathing and shaking. She found that she couldn't talk about her mom at all past what Damon had told her. Bonnie was crying with her when she had to stop and Rebekah had walked over to help her finish the story. Kol had maneuvered his cords and tubes around to get up and walk over to Bonnie's bed and the girls got up to let him. Stefan pulled Rebekah into him and Klaus pulled Caroline into his chest so he could try to keep her calm.

When the nurse came in and asked them to leave for a while, they all walked down to the hospital cafeteria, but changed their minds when they saw how busy it was; so they decided to try the grill. When they got to the grill, they saw a picture of Matt posted at the entrance since he had worked there and Caroline felt like she couldn't breathe. Klaus covered her eyes and walked her to a booth that couldn't see anything holding a remembrance picture. They all ordered and picked at their food; the siblings' parents urged them to eat as they finished their plates, but they didn't have much progress. Caroline hadn't eaten a bite as she stared at her plate and occasionally pushed the food around. Klaus noticed what she was doing and looked to his mother before trying to help her.

_"Love you need to eat something. All you've had is coffee the last couple days."_

_"I'll be fine."_

_"No, you need to eat."_

_"I can't right now. Just looking at it makes me sick."_

_"You need to keep your strength up dear. You've been through a lot, but you've still got a little more to endure before you can fully take the time to rest and heal. We've brought in counselors if you think it would help you; a lot of times they help when people think it won't. This situation isn't how we imagined meeting any of you, but we want to help in any way we can. We have the connections to help, so we're doing trying, but no one wants to tell us what they need." _The siblings' mother, Esther, spoke calmly.

_"The counselors will help the people here. It may take a while before they're ready to talk though. What we're going to need most is keeping this from reaching everywhere with a TV; the media is eating this up and its sick how they're trying to exploit this. I understand people have a right to know the truth about what happened, but to do that means destroying what's left of this town. Even though some of the people that died did some pretty terrible things, they didn't deserve this and what's left of the town shouldn't suffer more by having everything we've worked so hard for over the years taken away."_

_"That is understandable, so you wish to know how to tell the truth to people without tarnishing the name of this town. I'm sure we can help with something. We'll have some people work on it and we'll pass it through the elder Mr. Salvatore before it releases."_

_"Thank you. I'm sure he knows what would work once he read it."_

_"We understand you worked with him to help put the pieces together. You must have learned that with your mother being the sheriff."_

_"Yeah; I couldn't stand by and wait until I knew what happened. The only thing making me feel better right now is that everybody else is okay; Bonnie, Kol, and Damon survived, along with the others."_

_"I know it's personal, but would you explain why you were taken off of the target list? We understand you were on it from being a founding family member and because of your past relationship with one of the main targets."_

_"Um… I can say a little, but I actually had a relationship with 2 of the targets. Matt, the guy in the picture when we came in, was the one dating the pastor's daughter, but I used to date him too. She started dating him shortly after his sister died. Neither of them did anything wrong except live the life they were given; Matt was going to propose to her while we were all here for Christmas break. The other one was Tyler. He was who I was with when I started at the college, and the relationship ended shortly after. I'm starting to figure out why the pastor said I had already been punished during this. I knew about what Tyler's father had done to him, but by the time I knew his father was already dead. I helped him through his father's death and through his ex's, and he helped me through my father's death. A little while after we started dating, he changed and started reacting physically; I got most of his anger and trouble directed to me. I tried to help him and I never said anything until it was found out in college. By then most of the damage had been done. The reason I had been taken off the target list was because Meredith showed the pastor my hospital records from every incident Tyler had put me through; including the worst one. The pastor sent a picture and a file with his letter to me and I've been thinking about it since. I kept quiet about what was happening, but I still paid the price for my silence; silence was my crime in the pastor's eyes and losing a child before it was born and everybody that was killed during the shooting is the punishment."_

_"I see. From what I've heard I can say that it wasn't a crime worth the punishment. Why did he kill your mother, if I may ask?"_

_"She was friends with Mrs. Lockwood all her life and he thought that the friendship she had with her kept her from digging deeper for the truth about them. My mother was bound by the law and did her job as best as she could. Everything the Lockwoods did was hidden, and unless you were looking for something specific you wouldn't have found it. I didn't even think about it until after everything happened and we were trying to find a motive. This was mainly about taking out the Lockwoods, but he spread it out further to take out anyone that could have been connected to them. But that's the thing… this is a small town and everybody knows everybody. There's not one person dead that I don't have a memory of. In a town like this, we're all connected one way or another."_

_"Caroline you've been running without food or proper rest since this happened. You need to stop thinking for a while so your body can handle this." _Stefan shot in when he saw her look out the window to see the streets being cleaned.

_"They're still cleaning the blood from the streets and square." _Caroline pointed out without breaking her watch from her seat.

_"Love you don't need to watch that. Look at me… stop looking out the window. Caroline." _Klaus said and grabbed her to turn her to him. She came out of her trance and looked at him for a moment to see his worry for her before she looked down at the table and he let go of her.

_"I'm sorry… I just can't stop thinking right now. I think the trigger was Bonnie's dad becoming mayor. I think he wanted to expose the Lockwoods while they were still the ones in power, but was losing the opportunity. It's just too much after everything we've all been through; this town has been mourning a lot the last few years and this wasn't right."_

_"Death is never easy, and murder like this is never right. I want to extend the invitation your mother extended to our children and say that you, Stefan, Damon, Bonnie, and Elena will be welcomed in our home at any time you need it. You and your mother made Rebekah feel like she had a second home when she came here the first time, and that same generosity extended to Niklaus and Kol when they entered your lives. Stefan has told me that she was like that with him, Bonnie, Elena, and others throughout your lives. She sounds like she was a remarkable woman, and she passed that to you. You think you're breaking under the pressure, but you're holding yourself together and thinking of others before yourself in this time. Whether or not you want to believe it, it means you're a natural leader; someone to look to in times like this like your mother was. There are more ways than one to protect the people in this town; your mother was the sheriff and you're trying to protect the town from becoming known for this incident. You wish that this community stand together though this and the trials that lay ahead. I believe you would do well in politics, but everyone has explained that it is not your wish."_

_"No it's not my wish at all. I'm studying designs and business so I can run my own designs and business. It's just that all of were always told that as founding families, we had a responsibility to the people in town. We stood up to voice our thoughts for how to make the town better and we supported those in need during mourning or other hardships. I was reminded of all of it even more when I was Miss Mystic Falls and put in charge of even more groups than I was before. I never thought that year was going to end, but I guess some habits are harder to break others. I remember having to mentor April for a couple weeks about how to do everything during her reign; she was surprised at everything she had to do, but she held in there and did her duties. Then I remember that Matt was the escort for April and I when we won; he had the hardest time with the dance, but he was there for both of us. I remember the pageant was always at the Lockwood mansion and I was with Tyler when I passed the crown to April and she and Matt were both smiling. We all had plans for our lives, but we were supposed to be able to see each other do everything; graduations, marriages, kids. They'll never get to do those things and we'll never get to see them do it. April's dad killed them and everybody out of his hatred for one family; and because they thought everybody was letting their wrongs go because they were a prominent family. All he could have managed out of this was further destroying this town, so I don't know what we're supposed to do now."_

_"It's time for grieving and banding together to rebuild what's been lost in this tragedy." _Mikael answered her, finally speaking up. When she looked up at him, she shrugged her shoulders.

_"How is that going to happen once they know the reasons why this happened?"_

_"You said yourself that everybody knows everybody here. They'll look to each other for comfort and the surviving members of the founding families will need to be in the front to help guide them through it. I understand you have a break from school and you took off of work for this and your break. Use that time to heal with the townspeople and help them as you have always been taught to do."_

_"I don't know what to say to them."_

_"I think you do. Maybe you should try to focus on the positive things all of the victims did in their lives to help people pull through. You'll be expected to speak on behalf of your family, and your past ties with the Lockwoods will have people expecting you to speak for them with the mayor."_

_"I don't really want to speak for the Lockwoods. I wasn't family and my life was hell when I was with Tyler. How am I supposed to speak positively when everything they did was part of something negative?"_

_"I think in their case, you'll need to explain some of the negative before you try to say anything else. Start with the basics of how you knew them and go from there. You can say that you found out about their misdoings regarding the town after the shooting while you were helping Mr. Salvatore work through the investigation."_

_"I don't really want everyone to know what happened with Tyler. It's bad enough that people are going to ask why I wasn't a target but my mother was. If she had known about Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood taking money during their terms she would have stopped it. She didn't know what was going on between Tyler and I until after it was over, but she was still trying to figure out a way to abide the law AND make them be accountable for their roles."_

_"Love we know your mother was a good person and anybody that thinks differently is a fool. The people here know that she was a good person as well as sheriff."_

_"I need up… I see Jules. She was Mason's girlfriend the last I knew." _She said as she pointed to a woman trying to place her order. Klaus stood and let her out and she ran over to the woman. Klaus followed her over to see if she would need support and nearly snapped when he heard the woman talk.

_"Caroline… are you going to tell me that this was somehow Mason's fault too?"_

_"No Jules I'm not. I wanted to see if you were alright. Mason may have made a mistake when he was younger but nobody deserved what happened to them."_

_"I'm surprised they aren't saying anything to you, but I guess they won't. With your mother and two of your exes dying, I guess they think you'll stay quiet about everything."_

_"I may not have agreed with what they did, but I never wished them dead. When I saw you I thought you might stand with the mayor and me when we had to speak for them tomorrow."_

_"You're still going to speak for them? After everything Tyler put you though, you're going to say something?"_

_"Everyone is probably assuming that I'm either going to be quiet and hope everything is going to get covered up or that I'm going in to say everything I can against them. I'm not doing either. I will explain some parts I've learned and what I know with the mayor, but I will need you to help me stress that this wasn't what was needed to be done about their wrongs and express what the people need to do to get through this while keeping the past from preventing the future of the town."_

_"Why should I worry about this town? I'm not from here and I don't live here."_

_"No, but you were with Mason and you are affected by this as much as the rest of us."_

_"We were planning on getting married and starting a family."_

_"Hayley was pregnant. I'm guessing that either she hadn't told Tyler yet or he took the news better than he did with me. Pastor Young wanted the entire family gone, so if you had already been married or pregnant, you would have been a target too. He planned this for a while and Meredith made sure the loose ends were tied up before she ended her life."_

_"I just can't believe they're all gone."_

_"I know. You probably think I'm relieved, but I'm not. I moved on with my life and Tyler lost the power he had over me when I showed him I wasn't afraid of him anymore and that he couldn't hurt me again. The only other thing I wanted was for him to get help so he wouldn't do all of that to someone else."_

_"I remember when you came with him for a visit. You're a very forgiving person, but I don't think I could ever forgive what happened here."_

_"I probably won't for a long time, if ever. I just don't want this town to fall apart because of this. Will you talk at the funeral with the mayor and me?"_

_"I will do my best, but I don't think they're going to want to hear from me; I'm basically an outsider if you think about it."_

_"You knew the Lockwoods and you were the only one who actually knew Hayley, so you'll probably have to speak for her when you speak for the Lockwoods."_

_"I'll try my best. I'm sorry I thought you were going to harass me; I should have known you wouldn't."_

_"It's alright." _She said and pulled Jules into a quick hug before letting her go and walking back with Klaus to their table. Jules watched them go before she took her order and left the grill. Caroline looked around to see different expressions on the other people in the grill before asking if they could leave as well. Everyone looked around before agreeing that it would be alright since they had to prepare for the funerals the next day. Caroline had to stop by her mother's house to get a dress for the next day and pick up what she wanted her mother buried in. She and Klaus were the only ones that went into the house as everybody waited in the car for them. Caroline gathered her things quickly and headed to her mother's room where she paused at the door. She took her time reaching for the knob to open the door and look in. When she walked in, she picked up a pillow to pick up her mother's fragrance before putting it down and going to the closet. She picked out a dress and went to the jewelry box to look for a couple things. She found her parents wedding rings and the necklace that went with hers that Klaus had given them. She picked up both the rings and the necklace to put them in a small pouch so she wouldn't lose them before looking around to see if anything else needed to be put in with them. When she stopped searching, she paused at the door again to look around before shutting it back and walking out of the house quickly. They stopped to drop of her mother's dress and the jewelry so she could be placed in them for the next day before they headed to the boarding house. Stefan set up another room for Mikael and Esther to stay in until they left after the funerals. Kol and Bonnie would be released to go to the ceremony as long as Bonnie remained in a wheelchair to prevent movement as much as possible. The mayor had decided that Klaus, Kol, and Rebekah would be sitting in the family area with Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan since they were connected to Liz and him. Damon and what was left of the police force would be on the stage with them the entire time, but could speak for whichever family they chose. With all the preparations made and memorized, everybody sat together as the evening turned to night and the dread of the next day set in.


	12. Chapter 12

**Clearing the Air and Saying Goodbye**

Everybody got ready and made their way to the school to begin what would be one of the longest days some of them had known. When they arrived, they all noticed the news vans parked outside and Caroline began panicking as they walked inside. The press had been contained to an area in the back of the gym away from the families and Caroline breathed a small breath of relief, but was still worried about speaking. Klaus put an arm around her to give her some comfort and hopefully keep her calm, as they walked to their seats. Caroline looked around as the bleachers filled up with the townspeople that were arriving. Jules came in and sat in her seat next to Caroline on the other side of Klaus and gave her a nod to show she was ready. The mayor had arranged everything to where he would be the one to tell what events had led them to that day before he began the first set of speeches for the families. After a few minutes, everybody that was attending had made it inside and into a seat, so the mayor stood and made his way to the podium that had been set up.

_"Ladies and gentlemen; my fellow townsfolk and friends. We're gathered here today to explain the reasons behind this tragedy and to say goodbye to our fallen loved ones. What I am about to explain is not to point fingers or blame at anyone, or to have us at odds when we need to stick together. Few people know what I'm about to tell you, but I've already heard the rumors going around on what happened. Pastor Young and Meredith Fell thought they had been betrayed by the town because of the Lockwood family. The pastor's wife was killed in an accident by Mason Lockwood and Meredith's brother died of a suspected suicide while investigating the Lockwoods; she believed there was a conspiracy to his death involving the Lockwoods, to which we have reopened the case to further investigate. When we have further news regarding the deaths of Logan Fell and the others since we will release it. In this event, Pastor Young and Dr. Fell believed that the founding families had come together to cover-up certain actions that were happening without their awareness. With recent findings, we found that the Lockwoods had been receiving funds from the town and adding them to their own. After further investigation, we learned that Richard Lockwood had acted physically against his wife and son, but neither of them had spoken out against him. With even more investigation, we learned that the behavior did not end with his death, but carried on though his son. Not only did young Tyler get into the normal fights of a teenage boy in high school, but he also acted against the girls in his life. We suspect that it began with Vicki Donovan and are investigating her medical records with others. He carried this behavior on past Vicki's death to his next relationship, but she never spoke of it and eventually made it out of the relationship after trying and failing to make the behavior stop. He moved on to another relationship and our sources have found that the behavior was beginning again in recent weeks. I need the surviving founding families to come up here with me for a moment so I can explain why they were taken off the list of targets instead of brutally gunned down with everyone else." _The mayor said and paused so Caroline, Stefan, Damon, Elena, Jeremy, Jules, and a young man from a smaller family walked to the stage and spread out behind the mayor in the order they had been told. The mayor took the microphone off the podium and walked over to Jules to begin again. _"Although Jules is not a founding family member, I asked her to come with the others because she had been engaged to Mason Lockwood. I know some of you have been wondering why I would do that, but I want to say she doesn't deserve any scorn for being with him. Mason was young when the accident had occurred and it kept him from having a longer sentence than he would have been given as an adult. She didn't meet him until afterwards and she met a different Mason than the one we all knew. I'm going to let her speak of the person she knew."_

_"Hello everyone. I'm not good at talking about these things, but I'll do my best. The Mason I met wasn't the partyer or rich kid everyone else knew him as. When he moved to my town, he was nearly broken from what he had done. He started volunteering at the rehabilitation center to tell his story and prevent others from making his mistake. He ended up turning a lot of people around with his story and probably saved lives doing it. I don't say this to justify him or to give any less respect to the late pastor's wife. She didn't deserve to be killed in that accident, but none of these people deserved what happened because of it. I just wanted to say that he did learn from his mistakes and tried to be different than he had been. I will always miss him, but I won't gloss this over and say that everything's gonna be fine when it's going to be hard work. I don't blame anyone for pushing me away in this, but I do want to the ones who haven't; they know who they are. They made me realize that everyone needed spoken for today. Thank you for your time." _She said as she stepped back and wiped her eyes. The mayor turned and went to Caroline before he put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a nod before speaking.

_"Next is Caroline Forbes; pretty much everyone here knows her one way or another. To explain why she wasn't a target, I have to say some things I'm sure she wouldn't want known. However, she will give her side when I'm finished to show she did what she could to help everyone. We all know that she's the daughter of the late William and Elizabeth Forbes; which everyone knew as Bill and Liz. I was friends with both of them and Caroline has been friends with my own daughter since they were in diapers. As they grew up we watched our children make unbreakable bonds of friendships and become everything we wanted them to be. They all helped each other when they needed it and stood up for everyone who needed it. Caroline's best trait has been the reason she has suffered a lot the last couple years; she's a very caring person that looks for the best in people to bring out. Shortly after Bill's death, Caroline began a relationship with Tyler Lockwood. A little after their relationship began, Tyler began treating her as his mother and himself had been treated by his father. I'm sure some of you may have noticed trips to the hospital, her wearing casts or covering up and being less of a public figure; as I'm sure many of you contributed this to her father's death. This did not end until shortly after she left for college and had already suffered a loss that no one knew until recently. She bore this pain in silence as she thought she could make him stop and help him become a better person. We believe that Meredith's access to medical files is the reason Caroline is standing here today. Pastor Young felt that she needed punished for her silence against the Lockwoods, but after looking at her medical records and seeing that Tyler had nearly killed her when he made her have a miscarriage, he felt her punishment would be better served to live with the memory of losing a child before birth and her mother. Liz's death was planned because she had been friends with Carol and he thought she was covering up facts or not doing her job as sheriff properly. After looking at the records to find what the Lockwoods had done, we realized that unless we were looking for it, it wouldn't have been noticed. No one was aware of what was going on with the money from the town funds until after the shooting. The pastor explained in his note that he felt that it should have been known, and that is was likely covered-up, but neither was the case. He should have taken this information to the authorities instead of keeping himself from saying something and acting on his own with Meredith. Caroline, if you would…" _He said leaving her the opening.

_"Hello everyone. I know you all must be wondering why I didn't say anything before, but I will do my best to explain. Carol and Tyler had both been put through the same thing that Tyler put me through; I thought I could help me realize that it was over and wasn't going to happen to him again. I think he did it because it's what he knew and I realize that I couldn't have helped him. It wasn't always a horror story though; whenever we weren't fighting we were happy together. I got to see him get to a good spot in life before it all went downhill again. To see someone you care about get to a point where anything in the world is possible before falling back down in the dark can make you want to get that light back in their life. We all saw people struggle before coming back to themselves and I thought that he could do that too. When I got to college, it didn't stop and my roommate and her family found out; even with me trying to hide it. They stuck by me and showed me that I wasn't pulling him out of the dark, but he was pulling me into it; I was accepting too much. When Tyler and I broke up, I started becoming more like myself again and showed him that I wasn't afraid of him anymore. When my mother learned about what happened, she kept to the law and didn't go after him because it was already too late to press charges on him, but she kept an eye on him and was forming a case using Hayley's records the last few weeks. She was going to try and put a stop to it so he wouldn't hurt anyone else, but she didn't get a chance to. I know my mother wasn't aware of any of Mr. or Mrs. Lockwoods dealings with the town funds or she would have acted on it. You all knew my mother loved this town as much as her family; she did her best to do her job and protect us all. She was bound by the law and had procedures to follow, so she would have found out soon enough about the Lockwoods when she went after Tyler. I also wanted to speak for April and Matt. I grew up with both of them and even dated Matt for a while, but they were two of the best friends a person could ask for. I was so excited when Matt told me he was going to propose to April during Christmas time and was teasing them about it. April and Matt were taken away because her dad felt that Matt would get into drugs and drinking like his sister had and he didn't want April any part of it. I can say that Matt might have drunk a beer every now and then, but he wasn't like that. He didn't want that life for himself and he would have never dragged anyone down if he could avoid it. They were going to try to build a life together and pull through the tragedies this town has been through over the years. All of us were raised to stand together and be an example of what everyone was supposed to do. A couple may have swayed from that, but the rest of us are not going to. Every single person in this town has worked together for as long as I've known to make this town as good as it can be, and it would disgrace all the ones we've lost to give that up now. Some of us may leave and some of us may stay, but this town will always be home. I have no doubt that our new mayor will keep this town in good standing and better it over time. We've just got to stand behind him as he does it or we'll lose everything we wanted here." _She finished as she gave the microphone back and the mayor gave her a quick hug before moving on to Stefan.

_"The Salvatores were not aware that their family was a founding family until we were investigating and came across their family name in the logs. However, since they've moved to town they've become a part of the community and feel the pain of loss with us all here today. They were left out of the target list because they did not have high ranking roles in the community until Damon began working of the force. However, he hasn't worked there long and the pastor would have known he would not have had the time to find anything important out. I've appointed Damon as the new sheriff until the townspeople meet to either keep him at it or replace him. I do want to say that he has great potential as a sheriff; I saw his actions when we were being fired upon. He and Liz not only tried to clear the area of people that were running, but they both started moving the wounded that were still alive so they would have a better chance of survival. When Liz was shot and fell, Damon tried to run and get her to safety, but was shot in the process and Liz perished on scene. The bravery he showed tells me that he is willing to do what is necessary to protect the people in this town. Even though Damon worked with Liz, young Stefan here was closer to her through friendship with Caroline. They both want an opportunity to say a couple words about those we've lost." _The mayor spoke before handing the microphone to Stefan and waving for Damon to join his brother.

_"I knew a few of the people that we lost the other day. Liz and Tyler I knew through Caroline, but Matt and April were my friends at school like most of us. I don't have anything to say about Tyler really. I never saw the signs that he was hurting my friend, but I didn't speak with him after I learned the truth. Liz I've known since about my first week here. I never got to know my mother like Damon did, and after becoming friends with Caroline, Liz opened up her home and heart to me like she did everyone else they knew. She became a mother to me and I would even call her mom from time to time, and Caroline became my sister. I didn't understand losing a mother before because I hadn't met mine, but I understand it clearly now. She may not have been my actual mother, but she will always be a mom to me. Matt and I didn't really get along when we first met because I began dating Elena and he still wasn't past their relationship. However, over time we became great friends and it was like having another brother around. April was a year younger than us, but it didn't make a difference to us. She was a kind and caring person that liked to help others and she tried to reach everyone with her nature; must like some others I know." _Stefan paused with a smile. _"I was looking forward to April and Matt getting engaged and married as well. When Tyler backed out of helping him pick out a ring, I went with him. He mentioned to me that he felt that everything was going to be better soon. He thought all of the heartache had passed until we got older and it started being our times to pass. I wish he had been right about that."_

_"Hello everyone, I won't take up much of your time until later when we speak about all of our fallen law officers. When I started working on the force, I got the chance to actually get to know everybody in town. Liz was one of the most patient people I've ever met during my training period; I was really thankful for it too. I most likely annoyed her and the others to no end, but they worked with me and I came around in time. My brother and Caroline were right about how close everybody was; the people in this town are more than friends. Everybody here is connected one way or another; friendships here are family and family sticks together. I'm not backing down until we have everything figured out and this town is on the mend. For everyone we've lost, I hope I'm granted enough time to see this town come around and pull through stronger than ever. We owe it to them to do this. That's all I wanted to say for now." _Damon finished and they handed the microphone back to the mayor and he went to stand beside Elena.

_"Elena was away at college like most of her peers were during this event and Jeremy was on a trip out of state. They were left off the target list because their parents had already been targeted. We've reopened their cases as well as the others to get more details, but the pastor's board of victims indicated they were part of his plan. Dr. Gilbert was the one who did the autopsy report for both Meredith's brother and the pastor's wife. Elena and Jeremy were never given access to any of the files in their father's office, so they were never aware that the deaths were anything more than the news released. We're still figuring out if Dr. Gilbert was involved in a cover-up for the Lockwoods and will release the information when we find it. However, as of now, there is no evidence suggesting in a cover-up except for the notes and trail left behind by Pastor Young. As of right now, there is only proof that Richard, Carol, and Tyler Lockwood were involved in illegal activities. Now, I believe Elena wanted to speak for her brother and herself." _He said as he handed the microphone over to her.

_"Like most of you have heard, we've all been connected all of our lives. Caroline, Bonnie, and I have been best friends since we were in diapers. I used to date Matt and my brother used to date Bonnie who we nearly lost. All of us standing up here now are the only members of our families left; and we all make up a family together. We've even added some more people to that list recently that are sharing in our loss. Some of you recognize them since they've been coming to town with Bonnie, Stefan, and Caroline. We wanted to thank Kol for pulling Bonnie away from the line of fire; if you hadn't we would have lost her to. Damon, I want to thank you for pulling Bonnie's father away from the stage with Liz. I wish she was here so I could thank her as well, but she isn't, and I know you did your best to try and save her too. You pulled others away and gave them a fighting chance. I'm proud of you and how far you've come since I've met you. I remember the last time I was in town, us girls were discussing a bachelorette party for when April was proposed to, and I didn't think the next time we would see each other we would be burying her and Matt; along with so many other people we've known and cared about. We agree with the others; if we take anything from this besides pain and heartache, it should be the goal of making this town what it should be instead of letting it fall apart. We do owe it to the ones we've lost, but we also owe it to the current and future generations of this town." _Elena finished and handed the microphone over to the mayor and he went to stand by the last remaining person on stage.

_"Young Travis here was left off the list because his family didn't have anything to do with the Lockwoods beyond attending the Founder's events. He is also extended from the Gilbert family as most of you know. His part of the family move away and come back over the generations, so he would be less likely to know as much as the rest of the families. However, he is still a founding family member and recently came back to town after the passing of his parents. He was there and wanted to say a few words."_

_"Hello everyone. I know I haven't ever really spoken to most of you, but I can remember times in the sandbox with the other kids and having conversations with them when we were older and I had come back. Most of the kids that I knew when I was one myself have been gone to college or moved away. I got a chance to speak with some of the elder generations though. I got to see a few of the things I had missed since I left and thought everything was fine. I didn't know what was happening when the shots started. I froze when I saw everyone on the stage getting shot at. I ended up getting knocked over when people started running, so I tried crawling and eventually made it to my feet. When I tried to run, the shots hit close to me and I got knocked over again when the people fell from being shot. That's when I got pulled up from the ground. I saw Damon above me pulling and I tried to help him get the people that fell on me out of the way so they wouldn't get shot again. He told me to stay and hide, but I ended up running towards the building the shots were coming from. I stood against the building for a couple seconds before I saw more people falling and Liz running to them. I looked up before running to help her get them out of the way. She told me to get the bleeding stopped before she turned and ran back out there. I tried to go with her, but she told me to stay and help the ones that got away until they could get to a hospital or the ambulance came. I can remember the look she gave me; I didn't see any fear in her face. I only saw her determination to get back out there and get everybody she could to safety. When I heard the next shots I looked around the building and saw her fall. I saw Damon go running towards her and I tried to edge my way over. That's when I saw him get shot and the bullet pass to her. I knew she was gone when I got there, so I helped Damon get out of there and pull Liz with us; he wouldn't leave her. Damon, you saved my life so I tried to help you back. I'm sorry I couldn't help more. Caroline, your mom was so brave out there; she didn't give up until she was gone and I wanted you to know that." _Travis said and looked down the line to her. She was visibly shaking as she bit her lip and walked over to him. He held the microphone down away from them so she could speak.

_"You were brave for trying to help and you probably saved Damon's life." _She spoke as she looked to Damon before motioning for him to come over. _"Damon I know you and Travis both tried to save my mom, but you couldn't have done anything more. I do thank you both, but we have to finish this. Travis, I want you to meet with us later at Damon's house; it's where we're all staying for now."_

_"Okay." _He agreed and she pulled them both into a hug before gritting her teeth and releasing them as she and Damon went back to take their places. _"I'll finish with saying that I agree with the others. This town is home to all of us and we'll make it better again. We won't forget what's happened, but we will remember each person for how we knew them." _He finished and handed the microphone to the mayor.

_"Now that we've all heard from our founding families and we've explained what we have learned, I hope you see this for what it is. Two people suspicions and hatred towards one family spread to finding out that the family had been hurting more than helping the town. They looked for cover-ups and we are looking into all the facts right now, but we may never find any evidence to suggest one. It may have been just one family that was guilty, and each family had paid a price for it. Each person in this town will have to remember this event for the rest of our lives. Future generations will learn about it in stories and lessons at school and town events. It's how we come back from tragedy that will set the course for the future. Now, beginning that future I need to have the founding families take their seats except for Damon and Caroline." _He said before pausing and letting the others go back down to their seats. _"Now I need the families of the officers to come up here for a minute. I'm going to be giving out the effects of each officer to their family before I call upon the remaining officers to give them something for their actions during that day. With each fallen officer's effect I'm giving them something for the efforts given before losing their lives." _He explained before going to a box on a table behind him and the officers went to stand on Damon's other side from Caroline. Caroline didn't know how much more she could take and looked to Klaus. He mouthed to her to hold on just a little longer and she nodded slightly. She turned to watch the mayor place medals over the officers' heads before shaking their hands and moving on to the family members. Each medal and effects were given in a small box with the names labeled on them. Caroline stared at the box in her hands, but couldn't bring herself to open it; even as the other family members open theirs. Damon looked over to her and noticed she hadn't opened it yet and touched her shoulder. She jumped slightly and had to catch the box before she dropped it. She brought it to her and held on to it as she gave a slight shake of her head to say she couldn't look yet. Damon nodded and looked at Klaus to mouth for him to be ready for when she got to sit down. Klaus nodded back to him before returning his focus on Caroline who was looking at the floor in front of her and fighting uselessly against the tears that were coming forth.

When the mayor was done, he let them leave the stage and let people start coming up to say things about their fallen family or friends. Klaus didn't leave Caroline's side until he, Rebekah, and Kol went up to speak for Liz, Matt, and April. Klaus made Stefan move to sit with Caroline until he could get back to her and said he would help Rebekah. Caroline watched each take their turns speaking before she noticed their parents had followed them up and then she was confused. Stefan leaned in to whisper and tell her it was okay before he turned his attention back to the stage. She listened as they repeated some of what Rebekah had said regarding Liz before offering support for the townspeople as they rebuilt what they had lost. When they were finished, Elijah broke from the group to ask Caroline where the lawyers were in the crowd. Caroline looked around until she saw one and pointed to him and he went to offer his help free of charge with sorting through the wills for each of the deceased so they could sort through them faster. They gladly accepted his help and returned to his family as the funerals continued. A couple hours later, the mayor put up a mobile screen for a projector and set up the slide show of the deceased. After all the pictures had been displayed, he called for a moment of silence from everybody; few were able to hold the silence through crying or sniffling. When the silence was over, they all listened to the school choir sing in remembrance before giving his closing speech and beginning to procession. They had managed to call counties around the state to have hearses brought in so all the families could travel at once. At the graveyard, the families took time stopping by each casket before going to their own families. Jules had been standing by Mason's casket alone and Caroline walked over to her. When Jules saw her she broke down and Caroline caught her before they sat down on the ground. Jeremy, Anna, and Travis saw Klaus going over to Caroline and followed. They offered to stay with Jules so Caroline could go back to her mother's grave and Klaus pulled Caroline up from Jules to walk her back. She stopped at Matt and April's graves again before she went back to her mom's area. Caroline made her way to stand at the foot so she could see her father's name on the stone next the casket above ground with her mother in it. She slowly moved to sit on her knees after she kicked her shoes off and just stared wordlessly at both grave plots. When it started raining, most people left, but she wouldn't move. Klaus ran to the car to get an umbrella as his family and the others went for cover. When he came back he didn't see Caroline until he walked around the casket to see her leaning against the side of the headstone.

_"Come on love; we need to get you out of here."_

_"I don't want to go yet."_

_"Love, you haven't eaten in days and you've barely slept. You've made it through everything so far and you haven't stopped. Love, you're going to get sick if you keep it up. Let me take you out of here."_

_"I just want to stay until she's in the ground."_

_"They won't get to her for a while. They're covering up the caskets until then. Nothing is going to happen for a while."_

_"I don't want to go to the boarding house."_

_"Let me take you home then… you still have clothes there and I can get something to eat in you."_

_"I can't breathe there; I feel like the life has been sucked out of the house."_

_"Where do you want to go love? I'll take you anywhere you want to go."_

_"I want to go home but we can't leave yet."_

_"How long are we staying?"_

_"Just until break's over. I promised Bonnie's dad I would help him get the next Miss Mystic crowned and explain her duties since I still remember everything. Stefan's helping Damon around the station as the new officers are brought in. Elena's helping the mayor with getting hospital squared away with a new doctor and grabbing files for Damon. Bonnie has to stay a few weeks because she can't go back to classes yet; Kol and I offered to bring her with us all and take care of her so her dad could focus on the town while she gets better. She's trying to talk him into it and he's starting to give in with everything piling up. I never thought I'd see the day where we had the mayor, a few officials and a bunch of teenagers having to sort through something like this; none of us are qualified for this stuff."_

_"I think all of you standing up there and speaking will bring others in to help. I saw several people go up to the mayor when we were getting into the cars to offer help. It will start with a few and spread until there's enough."_

_"At least everyone has been taking this seriously. The phone at the station hasn't had any reports of criminal activity the last couple of days. It's surprising that some aren't taking advantage of a nearly gone police force."_

_"Well we still need to get you out of here. Name a place and we'll go love."_

_"I guess we'll go to the boarding house. We all need to be close to each other the next few days." _She said as she gave in and let Klaus help her up. She stopped to pick up her shoes and Klaus handed her the umbrella so he could lift her off the ground until they got to the car. Klaus drove them to the store before going home so they could get some more clothes and Caroline wouldn't have to go back into her old home. When they got back to the boarding house, the rain had picked up and they ended up running to get inside. Caroline was still soaked from earlier and the changing of the seasons gave her a chill that left her shivering. When everybody else saw them come into the house they looked to see them trying to get their wet jackets and shoes hung up. They excused themselves to go get changed and dry, but when they got upstairs Klaus grabbed a couple towels and started running a bath for her so she would warm up faster. When she was stripped and in the tub, he handed her a bottle of shampoo before walking over to the shower and starting it up for himself. She was barely moving as she cleaned herself up, but Klaus was washed and out, drying himself as Caroline got lost in her thoughts again. When Klaus pulled a chair over to the bath and a towel, she snapped out of it and put herself under the water to rinse out her hair. When she came up she nearly slipped back under, but Klaus caught her and looked at her worriedly.

_"Let me help you out of there love. We'll get you into some dry clothes and dry your hair, and then we'll eat something."_

_"I'm not hungry…"_

_"You said that the last couple days. You're going to collapse if you keep going love. Just eat something small like soup and crackers for now and we'll work you back up to solids when you're better."_

_"Alright." _She whispered and he helped her lift from the tub and pulled the stopper to drain the water. He put the towel he had used on the floor for her to stand on and not slide as he handed her the towel for her. She dried off and tied the towel around her until Klaus handed her clothes to her. After she dressed, she ran the towel through her hair while Klaus went on the hunt for a hair dryer. When Rebekah gave him hers, he went back and started trying to dry her hair for her. She ended up taking the dryer from him and finishing her hair herself. Caroline was still cold so she grabbed the blanket to take downstairs with them, and Klaus went to make them some food. After managing to eat and hold down her soup, she lifted her cover up so Klaus would get under it with her and she laid on him. While they were all discussing what needed to be done, Caroline fell asleep on Klaus. Klaus had Stefan come help him move her enough to be comfortable and be covered as he slid further to the side so she was stretched out but still had her head on him. He lifted her enough to scoot a pillow under her head for more comfort, and then he wrapped his arm over her shoulders.

When Caroline woke up later she was back in bed and she looked around wondering how she got there from the couch and saw Klaus with his arm around her. She moved back down in the bed to look at him, but he woke up when he felt her move and looked to make sure she was alright before he put his head back down and reached up to move her hair out of her face. Neither of them said anything for a few minutes as Caroline reached her hand up to trace her fingers on his face. When she finally rested her hand on his face he reached up to hold her hand and pull it to his mouth for a kiss on her palm before reaching over and pulling her into his chest.

_"Sleep love."_

_"I will soon. I can't fall back asleep yet."_

_"Another nightmare?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"They won't last forever love."_

_"I know. I just wish I knew when. Bonnie's having them too; they think she's developing PTSD from this."_

_"Everyone will be fine in time love."_

_"Thanks for everything you've done for me. I don't want to think about what it would have been like without you here with me."_

_"I wouldn't be anywhere else love. And when we leave here, all you have to do is ask and we'll come back again. I've already had Stefan go and clear out the food from your house so when you went back there wouldn't be rotten food there."_

_"That's good because I won't be able to go there for a while. If we come to town, we'll have to come here or get a motel room or something. I just can't go there again yet."_

_"We could always take a drive north to D.C. or New York; or go south to feel warmer weather."_

_"Until everything is up and running again smoothly here, I have to keep coming back like Stefan does. If you all still want to come you can, but I really don't know what to expect."_

_"We'll be here. I'm not leaving your side, Rebekah's not leaving Stefan, and Kol isn't leaving Bonnie. He already mentioned one of them transferring to the other's school after Christmas. There was another idea, but I don't know what you'd think of it."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Remember how we all thought about going to New York after we all graduated?"_

_"Yeah."_

_"Well since our school is really close to here, the news is going to travel and we don't know how it will affect everybody when we're on campus. It was suggested that all of us go ahead and make the move and just transfer schools."_

_"Who suggested that?"_

_"Rebekah did. She figured it would help everybody."_

_"Running away won't help. It would just make things harder in the long run. And we finally got the house the way we all want it."_

_"I know love. It was just a suggestion, but I think Stefan talked her out of it. Nobody else wants to go yet."_

_"Good because moving again and getting used to a new school would just be way too much right now."_

_"I think you're right. Do you feel any better now that you managed to get some food in you?" _He asked and she nodded before stretching up to give him a kiss. When she pulled back she looked at him and ran her fingers through his hair. _"Caroline…"_

_"Shh…" _She shushed as she put a finger against his lips. _"I know… it's just not the time to hear it." _She finished as she looked at him with the moonlight pouring in on them.

_"How did you know love?"_

_"I can see it when you look at me and I feel it every time you touch or kiss me."_

_"I feel that way when you do the same, but sometimes I wonder if you're just studying me."_

_"I'm not studying you. It's just that it's either been the wrong time or we've been interrupted. You don't have to say the words for me to feel it and know." _She explained and leaned in to kiss him again. He broke the kiss before she could take it too far and told her to rest before she laid her head back down on his chest. A few minutes later they had both fallen back to sleep.

During the rest of the week everyone was helping wherever they could as the town started coming back together. Damon and the other remaining officers trained the newest members of the force and gave them their assignments to start working on. Bonnie was moving around easier and had finally convinced everyone to let her out of the wheelchair for parts of the day, as well as convinced her father to let her stay with Kol and everybody else until she was better and the town was in better standing. Elijah had worked with the lawyers left in town to go over everyone's wills with their families and start the proceedings to carry them out. When all the proceedings had been started he took his leave with Katherine back to D.C. to rejoin with the siblings' parents. Caroline and Klaus worked with several of the committees that Carol had took care of helped them vote new leaders and Caroline finally convinced the Miss Mystic runner-up to take her place and trained her with the time left. By the time the weekend came everyone traveled back to the house and Caroline and Rebekah went to the store to replace the food that had spoiled in their absence while the guys threw the spoiled food away. When the girls were bank and everything was put up they ordered take out because they were all still exhausted from everything that had happened and after. As everyone made their ways to bed later, Klaus led Caroline to the bathroom and had her start the shower while he gathered their clothes. He came back in and laid the clothes on the counter before he stripped and entered the shower with her. She had already lathered her hair up and was rinsing it out when she felt his hands come up to her head to help her finish. After rinsing her hair and face off, she stepped back to let him wash up as she returned the favor and helped him rinse. When he was done he wrapped an arm around her waist and turned them sideways so they would they both be under the spray and she reached up to pull him to her by his neck. When she backed into the shower wall, he lifted her up to feel closer to her. When she felt him against her she moved her hips forward to grind down against him and he broke the kiss to look at her.

_"Love… you aren't over what happened yet."_

_"I'm getting better and I want this; you." _She replied as she leaned forward to kiss him again and lifted herself until she felt him at her entrance and lowered onto him. _"I just need to feel you." _She whispered when he broke the kiss and groaned from feeling her. He held them both still until he could speak again.

_"Caroline…"_

_"We're safe tonight; I double-checked."_

_"Love I won't be able to stop tonight."_

_"Then don't." _She replied and he pushed her harder against the wall before he kissed her again and pulled back to thrust in again hard. When she gasped against his mouth he pulled her lip in to graze his teeth over it as he released it before setting a pace with her. They didn't stop and they didn't leave the bathroom before the water had turned cold. Without stopping, Klaus carried her back to her room and they didn't pull away from each other until after dawn. They didn't even bother going back to the bathroom for their clothes and just covered up. After Klaus had made sure they were covered and she had tucked herself into him, he pulled her to face him.

_"I love you Caroline." _He said softly and she looked at him for a moment before giving him a small smile.

_"And I love you too Klaus." _She replied just as softly. He pulled her in for another kiss before pulling back and letting her rest her head on his chest. They fell asleep shortly afterwards and Caroline managed to not have a nightmare that time. When they all woke up they prepared for classes and spent time around the house trying to come up with a schedule so someone was with Bonnie to help her while she healed and someone was with the other girls at work. Caroline and Rebekah later left to talk to their manager about coming back into work. He gave them his condolences and offered them some time off from singing as long as they came into work. Rebekah agreed and said she would be back up as soon as she could, but Caroline said she didn't know when she would get back up there; the only thing she could agree was that she would work her normal schedule. They filled him in on what they were helping with back in town and he said he would change their schedules around after things got settled down and they spent less time there. He offered Caroline some more time off, but she said she wanted to come back with Rebekah and they would both be in on their normal days.

The next few weeks everyone's schedule was hectic as they settled back into classes, work, and helping Bonnie and Kol fully recover. Caroline and Bonnie still had nightmares, but they grew fewer and further between. As they approached another break, the girls were given some time off to spend the holiday however they needed it since they would be closed a couple days anyway. They were glad to be able to get a break from both work and classes coming up. Each day closer to Thanksgiving, everyone started talking about what they wanted to do to celebrate. The siblings weren't used to celebrating Thanksgiving, but they planned on attending whatever their friends had thought up. Bonnie was required to be back home to celebrate with her father and had extended the invitation to Kol and whoever else she wanted, so Kol said he would go with her. Stefan invited Rebekah to go with him to see his brother and Elena back home as well. The more Caroline thought about it, the less she wanted to go back to Mystic Falls for Thanksgiving, so she told Klaus she wanted to stay home. He told her he would stay with her and they would come up with something to do to celebrate by themselves. The others wished Caroline would change her mind and she and Klaus would come with them, but they understood not wanting to be back home during the first major holiday without her mother.


	13. Chapter 13

**Thanksgiving **

Caroline and Klaus stood outside and waved goodbye to everyone as they left to go to Mystic Falls that Monday. Caroline felt a little sad that she wouldn't see her friends until nearly a week later, but she felt better knowing she wouldn't have to see her house again for a couple weeks and she would be with Klaus alone for until Sunday. They went to the store shortly after everyone left to stock up for the week and to get a small turkey and sides for Thursday. When they got back and had everything put away Klaus pulled out a bottle of wine and got some glasses down. Caroline looked over at him with a curious look, but he told her to go wait in the living room. He followed her long enough to light the fireplace before he disappeared back into the kitchen. When he came back in, he moved the coffee table across the room and had Caroline get up to scoot the couch back before disappearing again. When he came back in again she saw him with a box containing an air mattress and some blankets. Het set them down and came to sit beside her with her sash from her ball dress.

_"Now love, it's my time to surprise you. I'm going to blindfold you and finish setting everything up. I have you all to myself until Sunday and we're going to make the most of it because it rarely happens." _He explained as he tied the sash over her eyes and she giggled. She felt his lips touch hers and she reached up to hold him to her longer, but he broke the kiss with a tsk. _"Let's not get carried away yet sweetheart. And don't peek; I wouldn't want you to ruin your surprise love." _He whispered as he moved from one ear down her jaw and back up her other jaw and ended by her ear. She felt his absence when he moved from the couch and she grumbled. She heard Klaus chuckle at her grumbling and pursed her lips. She jumped a little when she heard the pump turn on and then she heard Klaus' footsteps as he left the room again. When she heard him come back, she thought he would turn the pump off, but it was a couple more minutes before he did that. Then she heard the doorbell ring and Klaus told her to not move. She heard someone name of a price amount and she tried to figure out what he had ordered, but she couldn't hear. She heard him shut the door and move into the kitchen before she heard plates clicking together as he set got them out of the cabinet. Then she heard the TV trays being unfolded before hearing the plates being set down and she could smell the different aromas drifting to her. Then she heard Klaus pull the cork out of the wine bottle and the ting of the glass as he tilted the bottle to pour. By then she was sitting on her hands to keep from pulling the blindfold off and Klaus was chuckling at her. Then she felt him take her hands and pull so she would stand.

_"Do I ever get to take this blindfold off?" _She asked a little impatiently as she was shifting in place.

_"In a few minutes love… just be a little more patient." _He instructed as he led her to the stairs and lifted her up to carry her up. When they got to her room, he set her down and removed the blindfold. _"I'll be putting it back on you when we get back downstairs, but we need to change." _He said and went to the drawer to pull out one of her short lingerie nightgowns for her to put on before going to his room to get a pair of silky boxers to put on. After they changed Klaus met her in the hallway and led her back downstairs and put the blindfold back on her. He walked her back into the living room and helped her sit on the air mattress without falling as it scooted slightly. He set the trays close to him before going around the room and lighting different candles and she tilted her head to listen to him. When Klaus noticed, he knew what she was up to and decided to distract her. _"Now love, you wouldn't be trying to cheat and figure out what I'm doing with hearing, would you? I promise that I'm nearly done and then I'll be joining you."_

_"The suspense is driving me crazy Klaus. Just let me take off the blindfold; I didn't leave it on you this long." _She whined and he chuckled a no to her. _"Klaus my patience is nearly nonexistent at this point."_

_"Love give me about 10 seconds to finish this and I'll be sitting. When I sit your tray in front of you and hand you your glass, I'll take it off of you myself. But, the more you beg to take it off, the more I'll make you impatient for dinner to be over." _He warned playfully and Caroline squeezed her arms around her legs.

_"I think it's a little late for that." _She admitted in a squeak. Klaus looked at her and quickly finished with the candles before sitting down next to her and placing the trays. Then he took her hand and put her glass in it before leaning forward to tease her as he slowly untied the blindfold and let it fall to her lap before dragging it out of her lap with a smirk. Once her eyes were free she didn't take them off of Klaus as he teased her. When she leaned towards him, he dodged and gave another tsk before he lifted his eyes to look around the room and she turned to look finally. When Klaus saw her turn to look he brought his attention back to her face. Her lips had parted and she turned to look everywhere around the room at the multiple candles burning before looking back to Klaus and he reached for his glass of wine. When he did that she noticed that he had ordered them steak dinners with garlic mashed potatoes, a vegetable medley, and a roll. She looked back to him with a smile before he leaned towards her with his glass and let her kiss him that time. When they pulled apart he held his glass out to her and she clinked her glass against his before they each took a sip and set their glasses aside. _"You didn't have to do all this, but thank you anyway."_

_"I'm taking advantage of the fact that I have you all to myself for the week and I'm trying to be romantic and show my love for you." _He teased and gave her a light kiss before telling her to eat.

_"You know I love you too right? And you're already romantic all the time, but it's one of the things I love about you. You do spoil me too much sometimes though."_

_"I can't spoil you too much love; there's no such thing. Now… let's eat before this gets cold and then we can continue little act cos showing love." _He teased again and she laughed. Caroline was thinking about a little surprise of her own as she quickly ate through her dinner. When she was done, she told him to hold still because she wanted to show him something. Klaus was curious as to what she had up her sleeve with that playful grin on her face, but she came back with a piece of paper and handed it to him. _"What's this love?"_

_"When I went for my last shot, I had them track my cycle so I knew when we would be safe and when we wouldn't be. The red X's are days that we should use protection, but the rest of the days are up to us. Look at this week." _She said and he looked down again. He noticed he didn't see another red X until after the first couple days in December. He looked up at her and quirked one of his eyebrows up at her. She gave him a flirty grin and he moved his tray and their glasses out of the way before he tackled her down to the mattress.

_"Oh sweetheart… it looks like this week will be more pleasurable than I had originally planned."_

_"Does that mean I'm not leaving the bed?"_

_"Even if you leave the bed, there are other places that we could explore."_

_"We just have to remember that we aren't the only ones that live here, so let's not get too crazy."_

_"No promises love." _He replied as he bent down to kiss her before lifting her nightgown up to kiss down her stomach. When he reached her panties he ripped them to pull them off. She went to protest, but he cut her off. _"You won't be needing these for a while love." _He stated with a smirk and tossed them to the side. She gave a small laugh before she felt him lower and begin kissing her thigh. Her head dropped down to the mattress as he climbed higher up her thigh before he lowered where she needed him the most. As she got closer Klaus had to hold both of her hips down and increase his flicks as he sucked hard on her clit. When she came she felt him lift of off her and heard him taking off his boxers before climbing back over her. She tried to flip them over as she reached for him to return the favor, but he pull her hands above her head and down to the mattress before crushing his lips against hers and settling between her legs at her entrance. _"Later love; I just want to be inside you." _He said as he released her arms and lifted to pull her nightgown off of her before he pushed inside and lowered back down to her with a groan. Hours later they finally pulled apart so they could blow out the candles out rekindle the fire in the fireplace. When they settled back onto the mattress they worked on finishing the wine as they sat tracing patterns on each other's skin and watching the fire flicker in the fireplace.

_"What do you think Christmas will be like?" _Caroline asked out of the blue as she looked up to Klaus before turning to gaze at the fire again.

_"I don't know love. I know we're visiting Mystic Falls, but Bekah and Kol were talking to me about all of us going to D.C. for part of the break to visit our family too."_

_"That sounds nice. I doubt we can get off work for that long though."_

_"I've already spoken to the manager and asked that he let both of you off if we decided to go; he agreed."_

_"So you're inviting me to spend Christmas with your family and you?"_

_"Well Stefan and Bonnie will be joining us as well love. We'd be splitting the time between the places and it's not a long drive."_

_"No it's not. I'll go with you and I'll try to not depress everybody. I remember the first Christmas after dad died; mom and I barely made it through the day without crying and we didn't put the tree up that year."_

_"Well there will be a tree love and if you cry, no one will say anything to you. Bonnie still has her dad, Stefan and Damon have each other, Elena has her brother and their cousin, but you've lost your entire family. No one expects you to keep it together 24/7."_

_"The name won't carry on past me though. Without having a brother or any guy cousins, the Forbes name ends with me."_

_"But the bloodline doesn't end just because you're not a guy love. Your family line will continue when you have kids."_

_"I don't see having kids for a long time and there are a million things that could happen between now and then to prevent it. Did mom ever tell you about before I was born?"_

_"Yes she explained that it was a difficulty for her family's side to have children, but she also said your father's side had it easier throughout the generations."_

_"Yeah but I've always taken more after my mother than my father."_

_"You've got better odds than your mother did trying to make a family. And if it's me you have them with, just look at all my siblings. Do you think it would be a problem?"_

_"Didn't your mother have 6?"_

_"She had 2 more before Finn, but they both died in an accident about like Henrik did. So, all together my mother had 8, but there are only 5 of us left."_

_"Do you remember the first 2?"_

_"No, they passed before my mother had Finn so I never met them. After we lost Henrik, our parents didn't want to stay there anymore since it was where they lost 3 children and we all left except for Finn. You'll get to meet him and his wife at Christmas; just watch Sage's hormones right now because she's pregnant."_

_"Do you know what they're having?"_

_"No they didn't want to know; they want to be surprised."_

_"The first 2 your mother had… were they twins like Kol and Bekah?"_

_"Yes."_

_"So twins run in your family?"_

_"I would assume so."_

_"That's a little scary to think about; two at once."_

_"I think you could handle it."_

_"Just don't get any ideas… I want to finish college you know."_

_"As do I, but it wouldn't be the end of the world."_

_"I didn't say it would be, but I still want to get everything done before I even think about it."_

_"I think we'll be fine love. I don't see that happening to us anytime soon."_

_"Klaus we've not been together long and we've only really known each other a little longer than that. Eventually we'll reach that stage where there's arguing and we start our careers. There's no guarantee that we'll still be like this a year from now; much less when we graduate and get out there in the world."_

_"There may not be a guarantee love, but we've been living together almost as long as we've known each other and only really got into one argument. That was before we got together and I don't see us getting into a big enough argument to break us apart; nor do me meeting someone that captured my interests like you did. Do you see yourself meeting someone else?"_

_"No."_

_"Then let's not focus on the what ifs that could never happen love. I love you Caroline and I've only ever said that in one other relationship. One, she betrayed me when she slept with my brother. Two, I didn't feel as strongly for her as I do for you."_

_"You've met all my exes. Do you think I can say any differently to you?"_

_"No love I don't. That's why I say I think we got it with each other."_

_"Got what?"_

_"The love you spend your life looking for. Let's just take it one day at a time and see where we end up."_

_"That works for me. So what other ideas do you have in store for this week?"_

_"Those are all surprises love, but I can say I have no doubt that you'll like them. That reminds me; you are not to go outside tomorrow until I say so."_

_"Why?"_

_"One of the surprises is being delivered and set up while another part of the surprise is being put up as well."_

_"You're going to drive me insane before the week is over. You know that right?"_

_"I'm sure you'll be thinking differently tomorrow afternoon. I may just take you out and wait on the call telling me they're done."_

_"And where would you take me?"_

_"Anywhere you want to go in particular love?"_

_"Not off the top of my head. I'd rather stay in all week."_

_"Then we'll stay in all week, but you aren't going outside until I say tomorrow."_

_"Alright, but you better distract me or I might just sneak a peek."_

_"Oh sweetheart, I'll have no problem distracting you." _He teased in her ear as he dipped his hand down under the blanket to rub his finger along her folds. He used his other hand to reach around to her breasts to tease her nipples as she braced her hands on his thighs and leaned her head back against him. When she was getting close Klaus bent her over while keeping himself pressed against her and his fingers working on her. Right before she reached her climax, Klaus pushed into her and pushed her over the edge. When he brought her to another orgasm, he slowed long enough to put them on their sides in the same position before he picked his speed back up and Caroline pushed against the mattress to meet his thrusts. After another orgasm, Caroline didn't know how many more he would give her that night and she wanted to give him his release, so she told him roll on his back and pull her with him. She maneuvered her legs between his and propped her upper body on her elbows beside him before rolling her body down and Klaus reached up and grabbed her hips. Caroline picked up her pace against him until she had to replace her elbows with her hands and she sat up further to gain speed. As she sat up, she realized the new angle gave him a deeper thrust and she made the thrusts harder. She began to tighten again and she felt him begin to jerk inside of her so she released the rest of her energy into the last few thrusts that pushed them both over together. She fell back down to her elbows and Klaus helped her move to lie against him before he turned them back to their sides. When she felt him pull out of her, she moved to roll over and face him. They waited until they had caught their breaths again before they kissed each other and they noticed the mattress had started losing air, so they threw on what they had been wearing and went upstairs to Klaus' room, since her blankets were still downstairs. They both crawled into the bed and Klaus pulled her into his chest before they drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Klaus made sure to wake up in time to sign the delivery and set-up papers for a Jacuzzi and a privacy fence to be installed that day before returning to a still sleeping Caroline in his room. He watched her sleep for a while before he silently went back downstairs to pick everything up from the night before. After he had everything picked up, he put the dishes in the sink and carried the blankets and the air mattress back upstairs. When he went to put the air mattress back up in his room, Caroline stirred in her sleep before turning and feeling around for Klaus. Klaus noticed she was looking for him and went to lay in the bed with her.

_"How long have you been up?" _Caroline asked as she opened her eyes and noticed he had put on clothes.

_"Not too long love. I had to sign for a delivery, so I got ready and then I picked up downstairs. I've got to back door covered up so you can't see out it if you want to go to the kitchen for breakfast, or you can get a shower while I make breakfast for you and bring it up here when it's done." _He suggested playfully and she let her head fall back to the pillow with a groan.

_"Take a shower with me and then we can both go make breakfast." _Caroline countered as she started to sit up in the bed.

_"I like the sound of that plan better love." _He replied and pulled her up from the bed. Klaus let her gather her clothes while he started stripping and piling his clothes on the counter. Caroline came in with a pair of leggings and a long-length long-sleeved shirt. She tossed them to the counter before quickly brushing her teeth to get rid of morning breath and stripping down as well. After washing, they quickly got out and dried off before walking downstairs. Caroline could hear the noise coming from the backyard and was having a hard time fighting her curiosity, but she fought well. Klaus could hardly wait to show her the new additions for the house and tell her of his plans to keep adding. Later that afternoon they heard the sounds cease and Klaus had her stay put so he could go check everything out and schedule a say to have the porch enclosed before making an official patio area out past the pool and shed; he knew it would be a good investment in case they ever decided to sell the house instead of rent it, and he already knew the Jacuzzi would follow if he bought another house. He also wanted to add another Jacuzzi after the porch was finished being enclosed, but he figured one would do for now. When everything was squared away Klaus went back inside to ease Caroline of her curiosity. He placed a hand over her eyes and led her to the backyard. When he lifted his hand she opened her eyes and immediately brought her hands to her mouth before turning and jumping onto Klaus. He barely had time to catch her as she jumped from her excitement, but he spun them around before he set her back down.

_"What gave you this idea?"_

_"Well love, I was beginning to miss you in your bikini and…"_

_"Seriously?!"_

_"No love, I figured we could all use it to relax in since it's too cold to swim now."_

_"It's amazing, but won't it still be cold?"_

_"That's where the next part comes in. The Jacuzzi is going to stay on the porch and I'm adding another one when the porch gets finished."_

_"What are you doing to the porch?"_

_"Well love, I'm going to have it enclosed so it can be heated or cooled depending on the weather, and we'll be moving the grill to a new patio area. Since the shed and poll are close to the house, I'm going to have the patio placed further towards the back and have a little garden placed next to it."_

_"Have you told everyone else about this?"_

_"I told them before they left and I believe Rebekah had the hardest time keeping it quiet from you. The work on the porch will begin Monday and they expect it to be finished by the end of the week. The other Jacuzzi is already bought and will be delivered when the porch is finished. I couldn't wait until then to have this one brought; I wanted you and I to try it out before everyone else. The new additions will bring the worth of the house up if we ever decide to sell instead of rent, but the Jacuzzis will follow. I think that once we spend some time in them, we won't want to let them go."_

_"Is that why you had a privacy fence put up?"_

_"That and for the pool. Future renters or owners will be thankful for it as well I assume." _Klaus finished and went to turn on the house and start the Jacuzzi so it would be filling and heating for them while they changed. _"Care to try it out love?"_

_"Fine, but don't get my hair wet; it just dried."_

_"Have you packed up your swimwear yet?"_

_"Not yet; I've not really thought about it until now. I guess we all have a reason to not pack it up again." _She replied before she raced him up the stairs to get her bathing suit. They quickly changed and Caroline threw a robe over her because of the chilly weather and they went back outside. Klaus was shifting on his feet since he was wearing shorts while waiting on the Jacuzzi to finish filling and warming. When it was filled up, he checked the water over and over while Caroline came up to him to wrap her robe around them both as best as she could. When it was finally warm, he turned and helped her chuck her rob to the side and stepped in. When they both got in, they sunk down until only their heads were out of the water as they warmed back up from waiting. _"I think it's a good idea you're having the porch worked on. Could you imagine if there was already snow on the ground?"_

_"It's not so bad once you're in the water love."_

_"I know but it'll still be warmer and we'll be less likely to get sick running from here to inside half-naked and wet." _She teased as she moved closer to him and wrapped her legs around him.

_"Oh but how I enjoy you half-naked and wet sweetheart. However…" _He trailed off as he reached around to untie the strings of her bikini before he tossed the pieces to the edge of the Jacuzzi before removing his shorts and pulling her closer to him. _"I think I prefer you this way more." _He finished before she giggled and pulled his face to hers.

A little while later, they put their swimwear back on long enough to run inside and change back to their other clothes. They ended up taking some covers down to the basement to watch a movie and take some shots from the liquor stash. They ended up not paying attention to the movie after a few shots each and later they fell asleep together on the couch. The next day they spent time doing the prep work for their Thanksgiving dinner before making dinner for that night. Caroline set the alarm that night so she would be able to get the turkey in the oven with enough time to cook in the morning before they laid down to get some sleep before then.

The next day, Caroline got up and started the cooking before the alarm went off so she switched the clock switch so it wouldn't go off and wake Klaus up. He woke up a couple hours later and made his way to the kitchen to see Caroline beginning to make the side dishes since the turkey would still be a while longer. Klaus noticed everything she had already done and figured she had been up a while, but she saw him and smiled before going to the freezer to pull out a breakfast bowl and put it in the microwave for him. After it was ready, she pulled it out for him and he at it ate the island quickly so he could help her in the kitchen. Caroline was glad they had a cooker to put the turkey in and it freed the oven up for all of the side dishes she had thought of. She made sure to make enough sides to follow her mom's leftover casserole recipe; it was one tradition she couldn't pass up. When Klaus asked her about the casserole, she quickly laughed and told him the story about when she was little and had an obsession with wanting to be a cook, so she mixed everything together and her mother stuck it in the oven to let it all fuse together thinking she wouldn't make it again, but it had turned out really good so it became an after Thanksgiving ritual for them. When the turkey was done, she reheated the side dishes and they dipped out what they wanted to their plates while Klaus opened another bottle of wine he had bought for the week. As they sat down, Klaus notice a look cross her face as she stared at the food.

_"What's wrong love?"_

_"We're supposed to say what we're thankful for."_

_"I figured that love. Do you want me to start?"_

_"I'm just used to my mom starting. We always took the same order; first mom, then me, and then dad. When dad died, she still went first, but now they're both gone and I'm trying to make sure I have everything worded the way I want it before I say it."_

_"Just take your time love; it's just us here and I'm sure you'll do fine."_

_"Alright. I'm thankful for my friends, for college, having a job, all of us living here, and you. I wish that everyone was still alive, but I'm thankful for the memories I have of them."_

_"I think you said it perfectly love."_

_"Your turn."_

_"Well I would have to say that I'm also thankful for friends and family, college, all of us living here together, and you of course love. I'm thankful that I got to know your mother and friends before they were taken, and I'm thankful that your mother actually liked me. I'm thankful that my siblings and I have all found people that make us happy and keep us in line at the same time." _He said and she smiled a little before dropping her head down. _"And I'm thankful that we've been able to keep up with all of our hectic schedules and still make time for fun and each other." _He finished and looked to her a little nervously.

_"You did good; was that the first time you had to say thanks?"_

_"Yes. I've been to one other dinner, but I didn't have to say anything then."_

_"Well now we get to eat." _She teased and he held up his glass. Once they clinked their glasses in toast, they began to eat. Klaus had known that Caroline could cook, but he was surprised at the level of flavor and attention to texture she had paid of each food. When they had finished their plates, Caroline asked him if there was anything he would want more of before she began mixing everything together for the casserole; he told her no and she went to the kitchen to mix everything in a mixing bowl before putting it in a baking pan and covering it to put in the fridge. She told him to not touch the pan with a smile and he set out to start loading up the dishwasher since she had cooked everything. When the dishes were loaded, he wiped off the table and counter tops before they headed to watch the Macy's parade on the TV. Caroline had told him it was another tradition and he wanted to keep it going for her.

When their week alone was up and everybody returned, Caroline nearly burst with shock over hearing that Damon and Elena had eloped during the week and were married now. She had pulled out her phone to call her friend, but Stefan warned her that neither Elena nor Damon would answer for a couple days. Caroline huffed, but put her phone up and Rebekah insisted they go shopping together for some new things for school. When the girls left Stefan went to the basement with Klaus and Kol to get a drink and talk to them.

_"Um… can I ask you guy's something and you both not overreact or take it the wrong way?" _Stefan asked and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

_"What is it mate?" _Klaus asked as he looked at Stefan while studying him.

_"Well… after seeing my brother elope I was thinking a lot about the subject. Now, I don't want to get married for a while, but I want to ask you both how you feel about me proposing to Rebekah. Would you guys mind?"_

_"When were you planning on asking her?" _Kol asked and Klaus tried to keep his calm by remembering how good Stefan had been to his sister and she was old enough to make her own decisions.

_"New Years while we all watch the ball drop on TV. I would have chosen Christmas, but it's a bit painful to think about since Matt was going to propose to April then. I've already figured out how I would do it. When the countdown starts, I'll drop down and start talking quickly. I'm hoping she gives an answer before the ball drops so I can get the ring on her finger and we can begin the New Year engaged. I've already got a ring; it was my mother's. Damon bought Elena's rings so I want to use mother's to ask Rebekah. I'll ask Elijah, Finn, and Mikael while we're there on break, but I wanted to ask you both now."_

_"Well you have my blessing, but Nik is the one that's the hardest because he's Bekah's favorite brother; even if she's my twin."_

_"I'm her favorite because I spoiled her constantly growing up. Stefan mate, I've seen you with her and you always do your best by her. She is completely head over heels for you, so I don't see how I could deny my blessing to you."_

_"Thank you both. I'll wait until we leave for D.C. to get the other's blessing, but I was more nervous about you two. You both have my blessings with Bonnie and Caroline if you all get that far. Although, Kol you'll still have to get Bonnie's father's permission."_

_"I think it will still be a while before either of us takes that step mate." _Klaus said with a laugh when Kol started coughing on his drink. Stefan joined in on the laughing with him and Kol looked up at them both before he poured another drink to down it.

_"I don't know Nik, you didn't just about choke when he said that. I think you're closer than you think." _Kol said after he downed his drink and poured another.

_"Well little brother, I don't see Caroline and I parting any time soon or in the coming years. I have thought about where we might be in the future, but we're taking things one day at a time. We've all been living together for months now; that speeds up getting to know each other. Do you remember when her mother and her walked into the dorms and saw Rebekah?"_

_"Yes… I tried to flirt with them both."_

_"What I'm referring to is how Caroline has this way of being full of life. She made it through Tyler, and then she made it through losing her mother and other people she knew when the shooting happened. It didn't break her and she didn't run away from it… she's still as full of life as she was when we met her. And instead of breaking down, she focused her grief on helping find out why the pastor shot everyone and we all helped out after. You know she was the one who helped convince Bonnie's dad to let her stay with us while she healed. When we go to the store, she thinks of everybody and what we all need; I know it's just her nature, but that's just a couple things I enjoy about her. So knowing what she's like with her still technically being a teenager, can you imagine what she'll be like when she's older? She's probably the most mature person in the house if you think about it. I'm comfortable with the idea of marriage with her because I'm already betting that's where we'll make it to. And even if her mother meant it as a joke or she was serious, she did give me her blessing about like Stefan just did."_

_"Do you think she was joking?"_

_"We had just started dating so I would think so, but I felt close to Liz and I didn't feel like it was a joke. It doesn't matter if she was joking or not because I made her a promise when I saw her in the morgue. I promised that I would watch out and help Caroline, whether or not we stayed together. I also promised that if we got to the point I wanted to marry Caroline I would come back and ask her again at her grave. I know she wouldn't be able to answer me, but I feel it would still be the right thing to do."_

_"So you've already thought about it?" _Stefan chimed in with a grin.

_"You don't have much room to talk mate. After all… you're proposing to our sister next month and you've been dating just a little longer than Caroline and I."_

_"Maybe so, but I know when I've found what I've been looking for. I used to think it would be Elena, but it never felt complete and there was always something coming up that would push us apart. With Rebekah, everything that happens pulls us together more. I think of Caroline like a sister, as does Rebekah and that makes me happier than you could imagine. Rebekah doesn't feel threatened by Caroline because she's a girl and I haven't seen her overreact if another girl talks to me. You've seen me turn down girls at the bar and school; just like you two. She's happy and confident with me and I am with her too. I'm betting we're all be married to the girls. Kol I know you don't believe me, but have you ever worked so hard for a girl like you have with Bonnie? Have you ever stayed with a girl after you got what you wanted from her? You're still with her and you had to feel more than lust for her to save her during the shooting."_

_"She still got shot…"_

_"Yes, but so did you when you pulled her away from getting a kill shot."_

_"You may not admit that you feel more now, but you have to admit you care about her."_

_"I do care about her. I just don't know what that means yet."_

_"It means you're starting to love her brother." _Klaus interrupted when he saw his little brother looking confused. Kol started to say something back, but closed his mouth and poured another drink. _"You can't deny it; that means I'm right. Just don't run from it because it could be the best thing to happen to you. You almost lost her right in front of you; just try and imagine what you would be like it you had." _Klaus finished and took another drink of his bourbon.

_"You're thinking about when the founding families were all targets aren't you?" _Stefan asked seriously.

_"Yes. Everywhere we went I was watching for someone to start shooting and every building she went into I was looking for any signs of fire or an explosion. When we knew it was over, I kept watching for her to break but she didn't. I thought that one way or another, I was going to lose part or all of her. I realized that I loved her that day, but she wouldn't let me say it until we got back here."_

_"All I could think about when we were thinking we were targets was keeping Rebekah as safe as possible; and if that meant keeping her from to keep her safe I would have done it. It was difficult when there was so much pain happening and she needed comfort. She held herself together pretty good too; she knew everyone like she was from there too."_

_"Rebekah and Caroline are a lot alike at times, but they still have their differences to keep them unique."_

_"Now you know why I called them the doublemint twins. They're like other twins; alike but different at the same time."_

_"Does that mean I can call myself a triplet instead of a twin?" _Kol asked with a laugh.

_"Kol you'll always be Rebekah's twin, but Rebekah and Caroline are the kind of twins that aren't related. However, you might as well call Caroline your sister since Rebekah already has for years and she's with your brother; who has already said he thinks they'll be married one day." _Stefan explained and held up his tumbler to the brothers.

_"Stefan mate, you do realize that if you marry our sister you officially become our brother right?"_

_"That won't be as bad as you are trying to make it sound. I think we all get along great. Just one favor; don't tell Caroline what I have planned. Those two have the hardest time keeping things from each other and Caroline is horrible with surprises."_

_"Mate you aren't telling me anything I haven't already learned. You have no idea how hard it was to keep her inside and distracted so the fence and Jacuzzi could be installed."_

_"I would think you came up with something we all know distracts her with you." _Stefan joked and Klaus gave him a look.

_"I actually had to use other ways; she was still kind of tired from the night before."_

_"And I didn't need to know that." _Stefan said and Kol banged his head on the bar laughing.

_"I set everything up to be romantic for her and she outwitted me with a piece of paper."_

_"What piece of paper?" _Stefan asked curiously.

_"Mate I thought you didn't need to hear the details of our sex life?"_

_"I don't but I still want to know how she outdid you with a piece of paper."_

_"When she went and got her last shot, she had them track her cycle so we would know the days it's safe or not. If there's a red X, we have to be careful, but all the blank days are fantastic."_

_"I'm guessing it was a blank day."_

_"It's been a blank week." _Klaus replied and Stefan gave an awkward face and Kol turned to the conversation.

_"So I could have Bonnie pick up one of those pieces of paper?"_

_"I would think she would have to be on birth control dude." _Stefan piped up and was getting a little uneasy with the conversation.

_"Stefan, I would think you would like a piece of paper like that so you know whether or not you are likely to knock up our dear little sister."_

_"Klaus, I mean this in the best way possible, but I won't risk it since she's not on birth control. If she gets on it, we'll talk about it then."_

_"What do you mean she's not on birth control?"_

_"I mean she's not on it. She kept forgetting to take the pill so she just stopped."_

_"Maybe you should take her to get on the shot; it would make us all feel a little better and it's one shot every couple months. We're all in college and none of us need little ones running around the house."_

_"I understand that completely, but that's her choice."_

_"I could have Caroline talk to her about it. She might have better luck and less embarrassment talking to her than any of us." _Klaus offered and Stefan gave him a nod. When they heard the door open they all gave each other a look to say light subjects only before going upstairs. Klaus pulled Caroline aside for a few minutes to fill her in on Rebekah and birth control before she agreed to talk to her. When Caroline talked to Rebekah, she used her paper to convince her; Rebekah ended up making an appointment for the end of the week. Later that night Kol announced to everyone that he had talked to Bonnie and she had decided to be the one to transfer because it was closer to home where they were. When Caroline asked about Elena, he told her that she had decided to transfer to the closest community college to Mystic Falls so she could just go to school and then go home to Damon. Caroline was shocked at the news, but kept thinking it didn't sound right; first Damon and Elena eloped and now she was transferring to a community college. She called Elena right after Kol made the announcement and put it on speaker with a warning for everyone but Rebekah to keep quiet.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey Elena. Kol just told us about you and Bonnie transferring. What's up with you transferring to the community college? You know you can still go to a closer university?"_

_"With everything that has happened and being married now, I thought it would be better."_

_"Why do I have the feeling that you're not telling me everything?"_

_"You were always too perceptive Care." _Elena replied with a laugh. _"I don't know how you're going to take this news, so I'm a little worried about telling you."_

_"Oh my god! Is it what I think it is?"_

_"That depends on what you're thinking…"_

_"Does it have to do with 40 weeks?"_

_"Actually I have about 32 weeks left."_

_"Oh my god! I can't believe it!"_

_"You aren't upset?"_

_"No Elena I'm happy for you both. You'll be a great mom." _Caroline said with a sad smile before looking at everyone and moving on. _"When you find out what you're having let me know and we'll throw your baby shower."_

_"That'll be great. Listen I have to go… I'm on the other line. I'll call you later this week."_

_"Alright; I'll talk to you later Elena." _She said and hung up the phone before looking at Stefan. _"Congratulations Stefan; you're going to be an uncle." _She said and smiled before giving him a hug. Everyone else told him congratulations with a clap to the shoulder except Rebekah who pounced on him before going back to Caroline to talk about the future baby shower. The men all watched them talk and saw that Caroline looked a little down, but happy at the same time. Klaus decided to talk to her later when they were alone and kept listening to them talk. Later that night when Caroline was pulling the covers back for them to go to bed, Klaus decided it was a good time to talk to her.

_"Are you alright love?"_

_"I'm fine; why wouldn't I be?"_

_"I'm just making sure. You looked a little sad earlier."_

_"Klaus… I can't let what happened rule my life. Yes it makes me sad to think about it sometimes, but I can't change it. People I know or see on the street will be pregnant or have babies with them, but I can't let it get to me. I'm happy for her; I really am, and I'm happy with my life here."_

_"I know you are love. I don't like seeing you sad; I love seeing that beautiful smile light up your face." _He said and she giggled causing her to smile. _"There it is. I knew it was hiding in there somewhere." _He said as he leaned over to kiss her before walking around to the other side to get in the bed. They discussed the plans for Christmas so they would have everything planned out; they decided the first half of break would be spent in Mystic Falls, and then they would travel home to drop everything off before heading to D.C. to finish the last half of break. Caroline was excited that Bonnie would be joining them after break to go to school and live with them. _"Do you think you'll ever want to move back home?"_

_"I don't know. I still want to move to New York after graduation, but I guess it depends on how everything goes from there. Maybe when I retire or something I'll move back."_

_"If you have your own clothing line, you'd be able to work from anywhere and just send in your work to be made."_

_"True but I'd still like to be able to see it in front of me. What about you? Do you ever think about going back to England?"_

_"Not really; I might go and see Henrik's grave, but nothing else is really calling for me. I like it here, so I'm sure I'll stay."_

_"This is the furthest I've ever been from home."_

_"Where would you go if you could pick?"_

_"I don't know, but I use to have this map with little dots on it marking places I wanted to see."_

_"Maybe you'll let me take you sometime."_

_"Maybe. I'm just thinking about the next few years right now. I talked to my advisor about adding some classes to shorten the time it takes for me to graduate."_

_"What did he say?"_

_"If I start adding with the new semester, I can take a year off my total and graduate when you do. He's just worried I'll be overdoing it and get tired with it."_

_"I don't think you would. You've been doing great and you've had a lot happened that could have held you back but it didn't."_

_"That's what I told him. He's already making the changes to my schedule so I'll have it when Christmas is over."_

_"How much longer will you be in class?"_

_"Just an extra day each week. I'll have to work with my work schedule a bit, but I can do it."_

_"I know you can love. So if we graduate before the others, what would you say to going on to New York to get everything set up before the others follow?"_

_"I don't know. I think that should be a group discussion. I was going to take that extra year to save up some money and come up with a portfolio for my work."_

_"That would work too love. I was only making a suggestion."_

_"I know, but I still think it should be a group discussion. We have a couple years before we really have to think about it though, and a lot can happen in that time."_

_"You aren't kidding love." _He said and Caroline gave him a look.

_"Okay… what do you know that I don't?"_

_"What makes you think I know something love?"_

_"I can see it on your face and the tone you used a second ago tells me that you know something and aren't saying what it is."_

_"Elena's right; you are too perceptive. You really can't say anything about it if I tell you love."_

_"What is it?"_

_"Stefan is going to propose to Rebekah on New Year's Eve when the ball drops. Not a word, you hear me?"_

_"I won't say anything; I promise. What made him decide to propose?"_

_"I'm not for sure love, but he did tell me they wouldn't get married right away; he just wants to let her know she's it for him."_

_"I think they will end up getting married during one of the summer breaks; they can't keep apart for very long without driving everyone crazy."_

_"That's what I think too love, but I hope it's not this summer; maybe the next summer at least."_

_"I think they'll be alright no matter when they get married. I told you before they started dating that Stefan loves completely when he falls. What did Kol say about his twin getting engaged?"_

_"Well he's fine with it and gave his blessing, but he nearly choked on his drink when Stefan gave his blessing for you and Bonnie…"_

_"What?!"_

_"Calm down love; he meant at a later time when and if it comes up."_

_"He literally gave you and Kol his blessing on us?"_

_"Yes and then we talked to Kol and he figured out that he actually cares more for Bonnie than he thought. I'd say he'll be confessing his love for her very soon." _He said with a laugh.

_"That makes two people now that have tried to give me away to you." _Caroline said with a giggle.

_"I know love; that's what I said earlier. But don't fret love; I know neither of us are ready for that step so let's just keep enjoying each other."_

_"That sounds good to me. I mean I'm happy for everyone getting engaged, married, and having a kid, but I'm not ready for that. I think we're all still a bit young, but sometimes it happens young. I don't want to rush anything; I like what we have now."_

_"I'm with you there love." _He whispered back to her and pulled her to him for a kiss.

_"You know we only got a couple more days without an X…" _She trailed off as she moved to pull his boxers down and climb on top of him. When she climbed on him, he noticed that she was already without panties and looked around the bed. _"I didn't even wear them; no sense in you ripping any more of them." _She teased and he sat up to pull her nightgown off to notice she had skipped her bra too.

_"Did you plan on seducing me sweetheart?" _He asked as she sunk down on him. When she gave her flirty smile and tilted her head he had his answer and gave a hard thrust up. When she bit her lip to keep from being loud, Klaus paused to switch on the stereo to help cover their noises before they resumed. After she had her first orgasm, Caroline decided she wanted to try something new and laid on her side to prop one leg on his shoulder while the other leg stretched out under him between his legs. When he pushed back in, he used her hip to pull her to him and they both moaned loudly. Caroline grabbed a pillow to cover her mouth as his thrusts picked up and she couldn't hold back from crying out. The new position made it harder for Klaus to hold back, so he reached his hand down to flick her with his fingers to push her over the edge. She balled her fists up in the sheets to keep from sliding and to get a little leverage to push back to him before she came. Klaus released with her and dropped her leg to the side around his hip to lean over her and finish rocking them. _"Where… did you… get that… idea love?" _He asked as he was trying to catch his breath from panting.

_"It just popped in my head." _She replied in a rush so she could get back to calming her breathing down.

_"I think it worked for both of us love."_

_"I think so too."_

_"Well sweetheart… if the sheets are any indication of amazing I think we'll be doing this again."_

_"What are you…" _She trailed off as she lifted her head to look at the sheets and saw she had ripped them. She covered her mouth and turned to look at him. He chuckled and pulled out of her to lie beside her. _"I didn't even know I did that."_

_"I wouldn't worry about it love." _He said as she turned over and looked at him sheepishly. _"It's just sheets; easily replaced. So, you can rip my sheets anytime you need to." _He continued and brushed the hair out of her face before reaching over and turning the stereo down. When he turned back she was still looking at him with a look in her eye. _"What's that look for love?"_

_"I was just thinking about something."_

_"What is it love?"_

_"It's a little hard to explain and it can be embarrassing."_

_"I'm not going to laugh love."_

_"It's not that… um. Okay, so we've been together for a little while, but we're still going at it like it's new to us. I know most people get bored with each other by now, but I feel like it just gets better each time. I don't know; I told you it was hard to explain." _She said and looked down at his chest.

_"Hey." _He said and waited on her to look back to him. _"I think it gets better each time too love. There are some days it's hard to let you out of bed or hard to resist dragging you out of sight so we can have more of each other. I know we've kept up some great stamina with each other, but I can't remember ever being like this with anybody else; I've not craved someone as much as you." _

_"That's kind of my point." _Caroline said softly as she ran her hands through his hair. He curled her up against him and ran his hands through her hair until they both fell asleep.

Over the next few days Caroline and Rebekah were having discussions about birth control and Caroline had cornered Stefan at school away from Rebekah to discuss him proposing and giving blessings. Stefan had laughed before he made her promise to keep quiet about it; she agreed saying that it was an easy secret to keep. During one of the evening, Caroline noticed Kol on the phone with Bonnie and asked him to join everyone in the living room and put the phone on speaker. When everyone was gathered around, Caroline pulled out some papers to show them.

_"Okay so I know I have all you guys' curiosity burning crazy, so I'll make this short. I talked to my advisor and after Christmas break, I'll be adding some extra classes each semester so I can graduate a year early. Now, that still gives a couple years before this next point, but Klaus asked me a question and I felt it was better suited for a group discussion; which is why I asked Kol to out Bonnie on speaker. Now, if we all stay with who we're with now and we all still plan on New York, he wanted to know if he and I should travel there early to get everything set up for when you guys graduate. Or we could simply stay here like planned and that would give some time to save money and I could make a portfolio during that time. This idea is only if we're all still housemates and want to continue it; I think we will be and should continue because it saves a lot of money for us all to chip in together, but that's just me. What I want to know is what everybody thinks. Klaus and I will be graduating at the same time, and the rest of you will be a year later unless you do what I did. I made copies of my schedule because it's going to be close to the same the next couple years and I have to turn it in at work and you guys need to know when I'll be here." _She finished and handed out the papers.

_"Would we be finding something like we have here or something like a duplex with more than 2 living areas?" _Stefan asked.

_"I don't know yet Stefan. We really don't know what we'd find until we went there and looked. When it starts getting closer to the right time, we'll all look online and find a few potentials before we take a trip to look." _Caroline answered and Kol raised his hand.

_"Kol you don't have to raise your hand." _Klaus said as he rolled his eyes.

_"I vote that since we're all couples we could look for an apartment building to buy and all of us live there in different apartments so we have some privacy."_

_"Kol do you have any idea what buying an apartment complex would cost or the responsibilities that come with renting out apartments?" _Rebekah chimed in.

_"No I don't, but I was suggesting a small one with just enough to have us all. It would be awesome if we found one that gave us our own floors. We could remodel or something."_

_"That's still a lot of money Kol." _Stefan mused to him.

_"And a lot of work that would costs more money. We wouldn't find the perfect place right in the city anyway. We'd have to look in the suburbs or something." _Caroline threw in and rubbed her face in thought. _"That's another reason I asked if it would be better if we went before you guys did. Even if we found a place, the chances are that we would have to work on it before moving in and it would be cheaper for 2 of us to stay in a hotel than 6 of us. But, a year would give us enough time to get everything set up and be stable by the time you guys graduated."_

_"It's a lot to consider. I do like Kol's idea, but finding a place like that for just us that isn't a dump or in a bad area would be difficult. What if we had a place built?" _Klaus asked everyone.

_"You mentioned the suburbs; what if we could find a place that wasn't far from the city, but had lots big enough to build a house or houses. We could do Kol's idea that way, or just build separate houses. We'd all still be together, but we'd all have our own privacy." _Klaus mused out loud and the men leaned forward while Rebekah and Caroline exchanged a look. _"If we did that, Caroline and I could stay and work on starting careers and saving money while we got to be with all of you."_

_"Klaus you already got everybody set up here the last time we moved. You can't just spend that much money." _Caroline stated disbelievingly.

_"Caroline, I don't think you realize that our family is set for life as well as a couple generations down the road."_

_"Not all of ours are though. It's not fair to your family to keep paying for stuff like that."_

_"Why isn't it? Our parents are happy as long as we aren't blowing it on parties, drugs, or gambling. We each have our own shares that have been growing since we were babies that we get when we graduate so we can start our futures."_

_"Yes your futures; not everybody's futures. I can't just let someone make things easier for me when I was raised that I had to work for the things I wanted in life."_

_"Love you will be working and I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable, but I'm trying to keep us all together like we did with this place. Finding the perfect location for all of us would be harder there than it was here; we got lucky here."_

_"I realize that and I'm not trying to be difficult about this, but it doesn't feel right for your family to handle the bill on this." _Caroline stressed before huffing.

_"Love, we'd all be chipping in on this and once we were all in New York we could rent this place out or sell it to make up for the money we've already spent. This is really not that big of a deal and I'm sure Rebekah and Kol agree." _Klaus finished and they nodded.

_"We've got a couple years to think about this and there are a million things that could change between now and then. Why don't we all wait and bring this up closer to time?" _Caroline asked everyone when she couldn't get her point across to them. They all nodded and she went up to her room. Klaus was about to follow her, but Stefan and Rebekah pulled him aside and let Kol go back to his room and talk to Bonnie.

_"Listen Klaus; Caroline did not just give up on this. She's going to keep saying the same thing because that's what she's like." _Stefan pointed out.

_"Nik she's seeing it as you trying to buy her or pay her way through life. And in a way, that's what it looks like." _Rebekah added.

_"I'm not trying to do either. I just want to keep us all together and make her happy. What is so wrong with that?" _Klaus asked and pinched the bridge of his nose.

_"There's nothing wrong with it, but you're going to have to share the load with her. And you better bloody not help her get started working when we get out there. THAT would be a bigger fight than this. None of us will be allowed to use connections to get her business or clothing line started. She wants to do things on her own because that's how she was taught to do things; it's what she's used to. If you don't let her put in on whatever we all get later, you'll make her feel awful or that she's not doing things"_

_"Then what am I supposed to do sister?"_

_"Just talk to her. Let her give ideas and help out whichever way she wants to."_

_"She might also be thinking about you guy's relationship. Even though you both are great together and happy, you know she's afraid of the future. That one of the million things she was referring to a minute ago. This is the first relationship she hasn't had to work at to keep going; it's natural and easy and she's not used to that. With so many bad things that have happened, can you really blame her for thinking something is going to tear you both apart?"_

_"No I can't blame her for thinking that because of the past, but I'm not going to hurt her. I know she thinks that I'll either get tired of her or I'll meet someone else, but that's not going to happen; that I know for sure." _Klaus finished and looked up to the ceiling where their rooms were. _"I'm going to go talk to her. I would suggest that nobody follow." _He stated and started walking towards the stairs. He saw her cleaning up her bedroom when he got there. He noticed she had her headphones in her ears and she hadn't noticed him come in, so he went up and wrapped his arms around her. She jumped until she turned her head and saw him and relaxed. She pulled her earphones out and wrapped them around her mp3 player before she tossed it to the bed and turned in his arms to face him.

_"Look I'm sorry that I'm not making things easier, but I just can't let you guys buy everything again. It was bad enough the last time that you set this all up."_

_"I seem to recall you got a job so you could pay your own way here love. I'm not saying you can't do that again; you'll just have your degree when we make the move. And like I said love, we'd all chip in; whether we get one building or three."_

_"How can you guarantee we'll all still be with who we're with now? I understand Stefan and Rebekah because he's proposing soon, but Bonnie and Kol and us? How do we know?"_

_"Kol's never loved someone, so now that he does I don't think he'll give it up. With us, I don't see us fading either; I think we'll only get closer. I know you're afraid to believe that we could last or that something won't happen; and given the past, I don't blame you. But you can't let that fear hold you back or make you run. I've not seen you do either for anything else, so don't do it now. You know if we stay together and one day get married, you'll be family and have to get used to having money."_

_"And if we get to that point, I probably won't touch it; I want to make my own."_

_"I'm not stopping you from making your own way love, but I'm asking you to do it with me. I'm not trying to do everything for you; I'm trying to do it with you."_

_"With all of this aside, I still have to take time to work on a portfolio and then I have to them accepted so they can be made and sold. That's probably going to require some trips by myself because you have your own career to work on building and you'll have to make trips without me. If I can't get started in New York, I'll have to look somewhere else; that's just how it works."_

_"You'll make it love; it may take a while, but you'll do it."_

_"That's why I don't want to move right away. I want to stay here and get established before we all go."_

_"That works love; we can stay."_

_"But you still want to get a place set up if we stay."_

_"Yes; so it's ready when we're ready."_

_"Uh. You're impossible you know."_

_"I know love, but you're just as stubborn as me." _He said with a smirk and she shook her head.

_"Oh no you don't. You aren't going to distract me to get your way on this." _She replied as he started rubbing up her sides and nuzzling her neck. When he pulled her to the bed she pulled her head away long enough to get a point across. _"This does not mean you win; but you did manage to distract me again." _She finished before resuming where they were.

Over the next few weeks, everyone around the house was busy with classes, finals, and the girls were working overtime to make up for the time they would have off. Stefan was growing impatient for the break to get started so New Year's would arrive; he still had to talk to her family. Kol finally realized his feelings for Bonnie and confessed them to her as soon as he saw her again. Everyone was also trying to get their Christmas shopping in without the others seeing their gifts. Caroline made sure to go to the maternity store to get Elena some clothes since she knew her regular clothes would be in the beginning stages of not fitting; since Elena would be going into her 12th week when they visited. She even went as far as making wreaths to go on the graves of her parents, Matt, April, and a few others. Nobody said anything about the wreaths, but she wouldn't stop working on them until they were finished.


	14. Chapter 14

**Christmas Break**

When everyone started their break, they packed up the presents into Stefan's SUV and made their way to Mystic Falls. Caroline was a little nervous after hearing that there would be an unveiling of a monument during the tree lighting ceremony in memorial of the victims of the shooting; as well as the release of information regarding the investigation after. When they got to town Caroline had them stop at the cemetery so she could put the wreaths on the graves. When the others tried to help her she said to let her get the wreaths put up and they could go say what they wanted, but she wanted to do her part alone; they each understood and waited. When everyone had their chance to go visit the graves, they made their way to the boarding house; making sure to take a way so they wouldn't pass the Forbes' house. When they got there Elena and Damon were waiting outside for them and Damon helped the guys get everything in while Elena had the girls go in with her to prepare snacks and drinks. When they had all the presents put under the tree, Bonnie and her father came over to join in; Bonnie's father had agreed to stay with them at the boarding house so everyone could celebrate together before leaving. Since everyone would be leaving on Christmas Eve, they agreed to open presents after the tree lighting ceremony the day before.

During the tree lighting ceremony Caroline asked Klaus to take his sketchbook with them so he could draw the monument and the festivities for her. Afterwards Caroline told him she was going to have a tattoo done of the monument on her other shoulder from her first tattoo. Klaus didn't say anything, but he had figured that it was one of the reasons she had asked him to draw it for her. After the ceremony, everyone made their way back to the boarding house to eat dinner and open presents. They all decided to each open all their presents in turn so everyone got to see the reactions; so they sorted out each person's presents from the others and took their seats next to their piles. They all let Elena and Damon have the first turns, then Bonnie and her Dad, followed by Kol, Rebekah, Stefan, Caroline, and finally Klaus.

When Elena opened up the clothes from Caroline she gave her an uneasy look before moving on; Caroline figured she would have to talk to her later. Everyone else was excited for their gifts and Caroline had been until she opened up the ones from Klaus. She loved the new album of drawings and the lingerie that he had given her, but she paused when she saw a jewelry box. She gave him a look before slowly opening it to reveal a diamond bracelet. When she saw it, she calmly closed the box and sat it in her lap before moving on to the rest of her gifts and Klaus began with his. When all of the presents were opened Caroline pulled Klaus aside to have a talk with him about the bracelet. When he saw her face, he knew what they would be talking about.

_"Don't be angry love; it's just a bracelet."_

_"A diamond bracelet Klaus. You know I don't feel right when you spend a lot of money on me."_

_"It's kind of an heirloom that I ended up with to do as I wish. I wished to give it to you."_

_"Shouldn't Rebekah have gotten it then?"_

_"No love; she's gotten tons of jewelry and each of us guys received some to give to the women we care about."_

_"It's still a lot Klaus… when would I ever wear it? I never go anywhere that fancy."_

_"Well you can wear it when we visit my family or when we all go to New York or when we go on a date. Love, you don't have to have an occasion to wear it. May I put it on you?"_

_"I'm worried I'll lose it or break it; hell even getting it dirty worries me."_

_"It'll be alright love; I haven't seen you lose or break anything since I've known you. Now, hold still." _He instructed as he took the bracelet out of the box and wrapped it around her wrist. _"Do you like it love?"_

_"It's beautiful; it really is. I like it; just don't do this all the time."_

_"I'll eventually be able to get you to accept some more, but this will do for starters." _He teased as he lifted her hand to kiss her wrist above the bracelet. She leaned forward to rest her head on his before kissing him back. Elena came up to them and asked to speak to Caroline for a minute and Klaus excused himself to gather up their things.

_"Nice bracelet."_

_"It's a bit too much, but it is nice."_

_"Are you okay?"_

_"I'm great Elena. Why wouldn't I be?"_

_"You bought me maternity clothes."_

_"You're going to need them. I was having trouble with my jeans when I was that far."_

_"It doesn't bother you?"_

_"No I'm happy for you Elena."_

_"Damon told me that Stefan got their mother's ring. I take it he's going to propose to Rebekah?"_

_"Yeah but don't say anything. It's supposed to be a surprise."_

_"I'm not; I'm just shocked that he's going to."_

_"Why are you shocked?"_

_"They haven't been together long. We were together longer and he didn't propose to me. Is she pregnant?"_

_"No she's not. You don't see them like the rest of us do. They're inseparable and they're happy together."_

_"I just never saw him getting over me that fast."_

_"Elena you're married to his brother now and have a baby on the way. Maybe you shouldn't be worried as much about Stefan."_

_"I just can't help but think sometimes about where we would be if I hadn't left him for Damon."_

_"Elena you have to stop thinking like that. Damon loves you more than anything, and Stefan is in love with Rebekah."_

_"I know. I just want to be sure he's doing this because he wants to."_

_"You can be sure because it's true; he wants to marry Rebekah and live his life with her. His decision had nothing to do with you. Don't be having second thoughts or doubts now because if you will do is drive a wedge between everybody. If you go after him, he'll turn you down and you'll ruin what you have with Damon. Just let him go and let him be happy; is that too much for you to do?"_

_"I guess not. Maybe you're right; I'm just so crazy right now."_

_"You're going to be crazy right now; you have your hormones making you do it."_

_"Is that normal?"_

_"Yeah it's definitely normal; along with morning sickness and feeling like you can't get enough sleep."_

_"I don't know how you kept quiet about it. I know I've already been driving everyone around me crazy."_

_"Well I got pregnant right before that stomach flu hit everyone at school so I didn't know for a little while after that when everyone got better and I didn't. And I thought it was being sick that kept me so tired, so I went to the doctor to see if there was anything they could do to make me better. They told me I was pregnant and I could have sworn that time stopped in that moment. I decided to tell Tyler first and spent a couple weeks working up the nerve. The rest is history so I don't know anything past the point you're at now. You'll be fine and you'll thank me later for the clothes."_

_"I thought I had a bug too, but I'm extra hyper instead of tired."_

_"Everyone is different Elena and every pregnancy is different; even for the same person."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"Well my mom used to talk to me about it growing up and the doctor explained it when he was explaining what to expect. You may have an easier pregnancy than I would have, so keep your head up. Now, let's get back to celebrating since we're all leaving tomorrow."_

_"I can't believe you're all going to D.C. I bet you guys have a blast."_

_"Probably; I'll take pictures and videos so I can show them to you later."_

_"That'll work, but I've already seen some of it."_

_"Maybe so, but not what I plan on capturing." _She said and looked to Stefan and Rebekah. Elena gave her a nod before they walked back over and took their seats. Klaus gave Caroline a curious look and she mouth 'later' to him so she could explain what they had talked about. When they were all in bed Caroline told Klaus about what she and Elena had talked about. Klaus wasn't too happy with Elena in regards to Stefan and Rebekah, but as long as she kept her distance from them he wouldn't say anything. On the other hand he was glad that Caroline had talked her down for the most part and got her distracted with baby talk; he just hoped Caroline wasn't saddened with the talk.

The next day they packed everything in the SUV and Bonnie's car to take back to the house before heading out to D.C. When they tried to seat everyone in the SUV they realized they would have to take 2 vehicles, so the men took the SUV and the girls took Caroline's car. When they arrived to a gated mansion the guy at the gate checked them in and let them through. When they pulled in they saw Elijah's and Michael and Esther's cars, so they knew that if Finn had arrived he either took a cab or was picked up. When they walked in Ester had their bags taken to their rooms and everyone was surprised she hadn't given them separate rooms from who they were with. When everything was put away and the gifts had been put under the tree, they all took theirs seats for a light dinner since Christmas dinner there would be on Christmas. Stefan made sure to speak to Finn, Elijah, Mikael, and Esther separately so Rebekah wouldn't catch on to what he was doing and the girls kept her distracted to help. The brothers had agreed easily, but Mikael and Esther took a little longer convincing before they gave in. With all of their blessings Stefan started thinking about how he would phrase the proposal in a few days.

The next day everyone had their dinner with wine before making their way to the tree to open presents. Caroline, Stefan, and Bonnie were all a little surprised they had gifts to open there, but still thanked them as they opened them. When Caroline saw more diamonds, she looked to Bonnie to see the same uneasy feeling on her friend's face and went to speak with Esther. Bonnie saw and followed while asking Caroline to speak for both of them unless she was spoken to.

_"Um… can we talk to you for a moment?"_

_"Sure girls… just follow me." _She said and led the girls into another room before turning to face them.

_"Are you sure you want us to have these? I mean they're beautiful and we thank you for the thought, but they're really expensive looking and…"_

_"Girls, we feel like you will be family one day. This is our way of showing approval."_

_"I'm not meaning this offensively, but I know I feel uncomfortable with something this expensive. I'm happy you approve of us, but when I see something this expensive I feel like I'm dropping from a really tall building about to hit the ground."_

_"You aren't used to gifts like these; it's perfectly understandable. It actually says more about your character than you think. We used to worry about our children all finding people that would want them for the family money. We know you neither of you are like that, but we would still like to give you some gifts from time to time."_

_"Have Klaus, Rebekah, or Kol told you about after we graduate?"_

_"Yes they've all shared their thoughts with me regarding the plans for New York. I understand you're uncomfortable with the housing plans there?"_

_"Yes. I want to take some time to work on my portfolio and work to save some money before we all go. I feel that in doing so, it will make getting my career started easier than just moving up there."_

_"I could make some calls if you're worried about getting your foot in the door."_

_"Thank you, but I'd like to get started on my own. I would rather know it was actually my work that made it and not who I knew. The same goes for housing in a way; I don't want your family to foot the bill so to speak. If we all still keep the plans we have and are still with each other, I want to do my part. And I've had a hard time explaining that to Klaus. I don't know what Bonnie or Kol have discussed regarding New York, but I think she feels like I do about it." _She explained and looked to Bonnie.

_"I do. We were all raised the same way; you get what you work for. If we don't do our parts then it'll feel like we cheated life or we didn't earn what we get later."_

_"Those are understandable points and I feel better knowing our children found such honorable partners, but I know we raised our sons to be the providers of the home. Rebekah always fell in line with them, so it doesn't surprise me that she got a job as soon as she got away from home. The issue at hand was that our boys were raised to be the providers and you ladies were raised to share the load with men. I think if you all work together you could find a comfortable, yet suitable compromise."_

_"We've got a couple years to work on everything, but I think we'll all still feel the same as we do now about this. We've all talked about the different possibilities that could happen in the next couple of years, so we kind of know what to expect."_

_"Did my children tell you that we have land in New York already? I'm sure they've forgotten about it since they've not been told since they were really young, but we have land in different places in this country and others. It wouldn't be anything but the costs of building a house to help with the compromise. If you all are willing I will remind them of the land and then you all can decide what to do."_

_"I'm willing to make it an option if we can't find another way." _Bonnie spoke and looked to Caroline who was rubbing her hands together and pursing her lips.

_"Your family would still be responsible for most of it that way. I'm not really comfortable with knowing that, but I'll try to think about it and let you know when it's closer to graduation."_

_"I can tell you're uneasy with the idea, so I'll speak with my children so it can be added to your list of options. I will explain your uneasiness with the subject as well, but I will leave the final decision in everyone's hands to decide. I do hope you will consider using it; it's just empty lots waiting for a purpose that are no good to us if they aren't used."_

_"I'll consider it." _Caroline said and looked down at the gifts in her hands. _"Thank you for the gifts. They really are beautiful."_

_"You're both welcome." _She said as she moved to bring them both to her for a short hug before walking them all back out to their seats. Klaus gave her a curious look, but she just gave him a small smile as she gathered her gifts in one area so she could throw the wrapping away. Bonnie and Stefan began doing the same before they looked to see a maid coming to take their wrappings from them. They all three sat back down awkwardly and tried to not feel out of place. Esther spoke to tell them to just relax and make themselves at home, but it took a little while for them to adjust back to normal.

Later that evening Mikael and Esther spoke to them about the land in New York to give them another option. Klaus looked to Caroline and she gave him a look to indicate she knew that the talk was coming. When Esther spoke about Bonnie and Caroline's uneasiness with the subject, they exchanged a look before letting her finish. Mikael started naming off the different places they owned and Caroline, Bonnie, and Stefan all exchanged looks shock before looking back to him. Caroline thought back to the conversations she had with Klaus about what his parents deemed as okay in regards to money and was starting to see he had been right. Later that night Caroline and Klaus went to his room and she braced herself for a talk she knew was coming.

_"Are you excited about the proposal coming up love?"_

_"Klaus I know you want to talk about New York, so go ahead."_

_"The only thing that I need to add is that we know that Stefan and Rebekah need their own house for sure. They'll most likely be married by then and it wouldn't be right to have us all living together in one house if they want to start making their own family."_

_"And what about Bonnie and Kol?"_

_"I would feel better if they had a separate, but close house as well. We'd all still be neighbors and see each other every day, but we'd all have the privacy we lack now." _He teased as he started gathering their clothes for a shower. She followed him into the bathroom and dropped her jaw at how updated it was in there. She looked at the shower controls and noticed the shower walls had jet sprays for in-shower massages. She turned and looked at the tub and noticed it had jet sprays in it as well.

_"This bathroom is crazy."_

_"Why do you say that love?"_

_"Look at it; everything has something to give you a massage while you clean up."_

_"I like it and I'd say you will too love." _He teased as he started pulling her clothes from her. _"So would you like a bath or shower love?"_

_"Given your mood I would say shower, but I don't see a good spot on the wall, so I'm going to have to say bath." _She explained and he smirked before turning on the water in the tub.

When New Year's Eve rolled around, everybody was hyped up as Mikael and Ester had decided to throw a party and invite people they knew. Stefan felt more pressure as the house was filling up with people waiting to count down to midnight, but everyone he knew stayed close to him and Rebekah. When the countdown was about to start Mikael and Esther gathered everyone's attention so it would quiet down enough for Rebekah to hear her proposal. When everyone shouted 10, Stefan turned to face Rebekah and dropped to his knee. When everyone noticed what was going on, they counted quieter than before. He opened the ring box on the 9, and started speaking on the 8 in hopes he would be done by at least 2.

_"Rebekah; I love you more than I could ever say, but I intend to show you every day. I know we haven't been together long, but we've known each other longer. I will wait as long as you need me to before we're married, but I just want to know that you will. Will you marry me?" _Stefan spoke clearly and she started crying as the crowd continued counting down. She looked around at her friends and family to see them waiting on her answer before she looked back to him.

_"I can't believe I forgot to answer." _She mumbled as she started to smile. _"Yes Stefan I will marry you." _She answered and he slipped the ring on her hand with the count of 1 before rising to kiss her as everyone shouted Happy New Year. When they pulled apart her siblings and their friends came to hug and congratulate them before her parents did the same. When they had all exchanged congratulations, Esther and Mikael made the engagement announcement and the congratulations flooded them before the tell-tale sign of cameras flashing had them looking around the room. Caroline was glad she had pulled out her video camera at the start of the countdown and had only missed them kissing because Klaus had kissed her with the chimes of midnight. She had shut her camera back off after the announcement and had moved on to trying to get the confetti out of her hair. Klaus did his best to help her, but they couldn't get it all out so they gave up and went to spend time with everyone else together. When Stefan and Rebekah left the party, Klaus thought it would be a good time to sneak out with Caroline and they ran upstairs to his room. After making sure the door was locked and the curtains were closed, they went in the bathroom and locked that door so they knew no one was going to get to them.

They went home the next day so they would be ready to return to classes and work the following day. Caroline uploaded the video to her computer so she could make copies and send a copy to Damon and Elena before handing out the discs around the house. They made sure to get a packet with bubble-wrap to send a copy to Mikael and Esther as well. A couple days later, they received a newspaper clipping from Mikael and Esther speaking about the party and the engagement with a brief biography of the families. When Caroline read it, she could hardly believe the engagement had made it in the papers but she remembered that their family was pretty high standing and then it didn't surprise her. After Stefan and Rebekah had spoken about a date, they set one for the coming summer to everyone's surprise; and she asked Caroline to make her dress. With the job of making the perfect wedding dress, she had Rebekah start describing what she wanted and Caroline drew it up as best as she could while making a material list. Since she was in charge of the wedding dress, Caroline offered to do the bridesmaid dresses as well and Rebekah agreed. Caroline knew it was going to be a lot of work getting everyone's measurements and helping with placements, but she also knew that they could all pull it off without much of a problem.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summer Wedding and a Baby**

By the time the week of the wedding rolled around, everyone was worried about whether or not Elena would hold out form going into labor before the wedding would finish. The night before the wedding the girls all stayed at Bonnie's dad's house while the men stayed at the boarding house. It had been difficult getting Stefan and Rebekah to spend the night apart, but they finally agreed to tradition. When everyone was falling asleep, Caroline's phone vibrated to signal she had a text. She looked and saw it was from Klaus before she looked to make sure everyone was sleeping. She snuck outside and saw him waiting for her before he took her hand and led her down the street towards the trees. They walked into the woods a little bit before they stopped and he guided her back against a tree.

_"Have you missed me love?"_

_"Yes… I couldn't fall asleep."_

_"Neither could I. I don't think they'll miss us for a little while, do you?"_

_"Not right away, but we're in for it if Bekah wakes up." _She finished before pulling his lips to hers and he held her against the tree. Later that night she snuck back into the house and laid down with the girls. When they woke up, they all immediately ate before starting their hair and make-up for the day. When it was time for the dresses they had to help Elena stand because of her back hurting her. After assuring the others that she was fine they got into their dresses and Bonnie's father drove them to the falls for the ceremony. After the pastor had taken many from them, the church hadn't felt right for Rebekah and Stefan to use as a venue so they had opted for the falls. They all took their places when they heard the music starting. They had also decided that there wouldn't be a best man or maid of honor, but they would line them all up according to couples. Rebekah had wanted Finn and Sage to make the trip, but they ended up being unavailable; Elijah and Katherine were able to make it, as well as Mikael and Esther. The men all walked up and took their places next to Stefan as the girls lined up in the tent that had been set up to keep Rebekah hidden until the last minute. When they heard the march start they eat counted before walking out and going to stand in their spots to wait on Rebekah and Mikael to walk up to the alter. Caroline was close enough to hear Stefan's intake of breath when he saw Rebekah come out of the tent and start walking to him; and she was glad they had used waterproof make-up because they all had tears in their eyes. When Mikael handed Rebekah's hand over Caroline noticed Klaus looking at her and she gave him a smile before indicating with her eyes that he was supposed to be watching the bride and groom.

When Stefan and Rebekah were named man and wife, everyone started yelling their cheers and throwing their rice at them as they tried to run down the aisle. The rest of the couples followed in their order as they went towards the reception area for the speeches and dances. Rebekah danced the first dance with Stefan before she had her father daughter dance while Stefan danced with her mother. Then she proceeded to dance with her brothers as Stefan danced with Caroline, Bonnie, and Elena before they finally made their way back to each other. When Elena started feeling more pain in her back she had Damon take her to sit down so she could rest while everyone readied themselves for the garter and bouquet tosses. It didn't surprise anybody when Kol caught the garter, but everyone was surprised when Caroline ducked away from the bouquet and Bonnie caught it. Bonnie and Kol were laughing when they made their way back to each other and Kol tried to drag Bonnie up to the judge claiming they were next, but Bonnie held him back. When everyone took their seats to take turns speaking to the bride and groom, they went in order starting with the bridesmaids and groomsmen. Elena was feeling worse so she asked for her and Damon to be last in their order instead of first and everyone agreed. Caroline tried to pay attention, but she kept looking back to Elena and noticed that she was beginning to make faces and started timing the periods between faces. When she noticed it was getting sooner, she hurried through her speech and told Klaus she thought Elena was in labor. They both watched as Damon and Elena took the stage during their turn and Damon spoke for the both of them as Elena squeezed his arm and tried to stand still without making a face. When Damon was just about finished speaking Elena bent over with a cry as everyone saw her water break. Caroline ran up and told Damon he had to get her to the hospital quickly because her contractions were getting really close together. Elena reached over and grabbed Caroline's arm and Caroline bent down to hear her.

_"What do I do?"_

_"Don't panic Elena, just remember your breathing. I started timing earlier and your contractions are barely 4 minutes apart and holding steady. It won't be long; you have to get to the hospital." _She said quickly and tried breathing to give Elena an example and Elena started breathing like her. Then Caroline looked around the crowd. _"Is there a doctor or EMT here?!" _She hollered out and looked to see Klaus on the phone with the hospital. Stefan and Rebekah came running over.

_"Oh my god… Stefan she's in labor. We need to get her to the hospital." _Rebekah said in a panic.

_"Damon you carry her. I'll drive you guys there." _Caroline said as she gathered up a table cover to wrap around Elena so the fluids wouldn't get in the car. Klaus came up to help Damon get Elena in his arms.

_"Caroline, I'll drive; you turn around and help Damon with her." _Klaus instructed and turned to Rebekah. _"Little sister I'm happy to see you married, but I need to help get her to the hospital. You and Stefan are about to have a nephew so just finish up here and then you can come by or leave for your honeymoon."_

_"Honeymoon be damned! I'm going to be an aunt today and my honeymoon can wait on our nephew to be born!" _Rebekah hollered out and everybody turned to look at her.

_"Bekah honey; we need to get everyone here taken care of since it's our wedding. We'll go to them as soon as we have everything handled here." _Stefan calmly tried to reason with her, but Rebekah wasn't having it.

_"Stefan Salvatore, my dear husband, we're going right behind them." _She said seriously and looked around for Elijah. _"Elijah come here brother." _She said loud enough for him to hear and he walked over. _"Will you move everyone to the boarding house to finish the reception there? I want to go to the hospital with them."_

_"You all aren't going without us either now." _Bonnie said as she and Kol stepped up and looked at everyone.

_"At this point I don't care who comes to the freaking hospital as long as I get to leave NOW!" _Elena screamed as another contraction set in and Klaus told his sister to get everything squared away before he ran after Caroline, Damon, and Elena. Stefan quickly handed Elijah the keys to the boarding house before the rest of them ran to Bonnie's car and took off after the others.

At the hospital they all arrived right after Elena and followed up to the labor and delivery wing. When the doctor checked Elena he mentioned that she was already dilated to 9 and was about to start pushing. When everyone tried to leave the room Elena grabbed onto Caroline and Bonnie and made them stay with her and Damon. The girls looked at Klaus and Kol and they nodded before exiting with Stefan and Rebekah. Elena was going to ask Rebekah to stay, but the doctor said that one of the other girls would have to leave, so Rebekah had said she would wait patiently. Caroline told her she would come and switch places with her first and Rebekah agreed before they shut the door. When Caroline turned back she kept her eyes on Elena's face to keep Elena doing her breathing and hold her other hand. It was already too late for an epidural and once the doctor had her in place he ordered her to push. After a couple minutes of pushing, Elena finally pushed out a boy weighing 7 lbs. and 6 oz. When they told the girls the name, Caroline went out of the room to give the news.

_"Zachary Grayson Salvatore weighing in at 7 pounds and 6 ounces is finally here. And might I add that he is one ticked off baby." _She said with a smile and pulled out her phone to show the guys while Rebekah went to go see Elena and the baby. Caroline looked at each of the guys look at the baby with their own looks; Klaus looked normal, Stefan looked proud, and Kol looked confused.

_"Is he supposed to look like that?" _Kol asked and grabbed the phone to turn it to different angles.

_"Like what? He's normal and he looks healthy, so we can be happy that he and Elena are doing fine." _Caroline asked before she explained what you couldn't really see in a picture. Rebekah came running back out crying and saying he was adorable. Stefan looked at his bride before pulling her into him and saying he would wait until Elena was cleaned up and covered before he would go look for himself. About that time, the nurse came through with the baby in the carrier on her way to the nursery. The men stole a peek at the little crying bundle before they turned back to the women to see them turning to look back to Elena's room. They saw Damon exit the room before the doctor and nurses moved Elena to the recovery rooms. When she was in her own room, everyone was allowed to go in and visit her for a little while, but the baby would be a few minutes before it was brought back. When the baby finally arrived, Elena held him for a long time before passing him to Damon. Damon walked him over to show the guys and the women went to sit with Elena to check on her. When all the men had seen the baby, Damon approached the women warily and asked who was going to hold him first. Rebekah called first dibs since it was her nephew now and her wedding day, followed by Bonnie, and Caroline wanted to go last.

When Rebekah was holding little Zachary she made the comment that she wanted one, and Stefan reminded her that they had just got married a couple hours before and that they needed to wait on graduating college. She had pouted, but agreed he had been right. When she handed the baby over to Bonnie, Kol told Bonnie to not get any ideas for a while and she looked at him to say 'duh' before returning her attention to the baby who was starting to fuss again. When Bonnie couldn't get the baby to calm down Elena was about to take the baby back, but Caroline held her arms out and reached for the bottle the nurse had left. She tucked him into an arm and moved the bottle nipple around until he opened his mouth and secured the bottle in his mouth. She gave a smile and looked to Elena before looking back at the baby. She maneuvered her hand to hold the baby and bottle before grabbing a blanket and throwing it over her shoulder and checking the bottle to see how much he had ate. She remembered the process of feeding and burping from all the books she had read years ago and set the bottle down to put the baby on her shoulder. She cooed him when he started to fuss as she patted his back. When she heard a burp, she placed him back in Elena's arms and helped her secure the bottle back.

_"How did you know what to do?" _Elena asked.

_"I read a lot about it. You'll want to burp him every half ounce he drinks until he's a little older. Then you just gradually increase the amount between burpings; the doctor will give you a timeframe. But, he's got a good latch on the bottle and he isn't getting choked, so he's doing well with feeding. Don't worry; you'll be a pro by this time next week." _Caroline said when she noticed Elena giving her a look.

_"I have the feeling he's going to be a big eater."_

_"Oh I have no doubt about that. You used to eat a lot when we were little and Jeremy still eats like a garbage disposal; as well as Damon." _She replied and gave a look to Damon who started laughing. _"Anyway, you all need to rest. We're going to go finish the wedding reception and we'll come back tomorrow. I'll bring you something that isn't hospital food too." _Caroline said as she stood and tried corralling everyone to the door.

_"Thanks you guys. I'm sorry he couldn't wait a couple more hours."_

_"They come out when they're ready; not you." _Caroline said with a smile and waved as she stepped out the room. Everyone else gave a wave and said goodbye before they followed her out. As they walked out, one of the nurses told Rebekah it was good luck for a baby to be born during a wedding and wished her luck. She gave a smile and they all left to go to the boarding house. When they got there they announced Zachary's birth before they proceeded where they had left off. When the reception was over, Rebekah and Stefan decided to go ahead and leave for their honeymoon since she wouldn't have much time off work after and he was beginning a summer job after they came back. As they drove away Caroline, Klaus, Bonnie, and Kol looked at the house before looking over to Mikael, Esther, Elijah, and Katherine to see them preparing to leave as well. When they said their goodbyes, the rest of the group gathered their things so they could go to the hotel since Stefan nor Damon was going to be there.

The next day Caroline and Klaus went to the hospital first since Caroline had to be back for work the next day and Bonnie and Kol would be staying an extra day. When they got there Elena and Damon both looked like zombies as they explained that little Zachary was definitely a night owl. Caroline offered to watch him while they were there so Elena and Damon could catch some rest, and they easily agreed. Caroline and Klaus decided to sit on the loveseat with the baby since Damon had stretched out in the foldout chair. Caroline changed him and began feeding him without a problem and Klaus observed her with him.

_"You're good with him." _Klaus said with a smile.

_"I've baby-sat a lot."_

_"You're a natural at it."_

_"The first time I baby-sat I was 13; I wasn't natural at it then. They're actually really easy when they're this little. It's when they can crawl or walk that really gets to you. And don't get meet started on 2 and 3 year olds; they're little tornadoes."_

_"I bet love. Does it make you sad to hold him?"_

_"No; I thought it would, but it doesn't. I think they did a good job; he's absolutely adorable." _She noted and brought him up to burp him again. The nurse came in and saw them while Elena and Damon were sleeping and checked him and Elena before leaving the room again. _"I thought she was going to take him back to the nursery."_

_"I think she knows you're harmless love."_

_"I can't believe Rebekah said she wanted a baby yesterday. I know they're cute and holding them makes you want one, but I can't see adding a baby in on top of everything else for a long time."_

_"But the process is always fun sweetheart."_

_"Don't get any ideas in your head. I know Rebekah and Stefan just got married and Damon and Elena just had Zachary, so let's let things calm back down for a while." _She said when she noticed the look her was giving her. Klaus gave her a smile before he picked up her hair to move it behind her as she went to give the baby the rest of his bottle. When he had finished eating and burping, Caroline placed him back in his little bed on wheels and rolled him next to the bed.

_"I figured you would want to keep holding him."_

_"You don't want them to get used to being held or they will expect it as they get older."_

_"You might want to make sure they know that when they get up. It didn't look like they had heard that before."_

_"They're both older siblings; they should be fine." _She said and Bonnie and Kol came into the room. Caroline put a finger to her mouth to signal they should keep the volume down before standing and speaking to Bonnie and Kol. _Let Elena and Damon sleep as long as they can. Also, while Zachary is sleeping don't pick him up. It'll help them in the long run if he gets used to that now instead of having to break him later."_

_"So when are you two going to be making little ones?" _Kol asked and Caroline glared. Klaus gave his brother a look and Bonnie slapped his arm. _"What? I'm surprised he hasn't knocked her up already."_

_"Kol, if I knew it wouldn't wake up the baby I would beat the crap out of you right now." _Caroline said lowly and Klaus wrapped an arm around her. Bonnie huffed and was visibly counting as Kol looked at them all and rolled his eyes.

_"Geez I'm sorry; I just figured you two had talked about it at some point."_

_"We have brother, but neither of us is going to be ready for something like that for a while." _Klaus said as he looked to Caroline, who was holding back from a rant.

_"Listen, we have to hit the road because I have work tomorrow. Are you two going to be alright here when we leave?" _Caroline said quickly and glared at Kol. Bonnie looked to Kol to see him stepping back and quickly spoke up.

_"Go on Care. We'll be fine and give us a call when you get there and let us know you made it alright."_

_"Sure. We'll see you guys tomorrow." _Caroline answered as she gave Bonnie a hug and went over to peck the baby's forehead lightly so he wouldn't wake up. After saying goodbye, Caroline and Klaus made their way out of the hospital and to the car. When they got back home they unpacked and got everything ready for the next day before changing into their swim clothes and going to relax in the pool. They spent that evening discussing the next couple years ahead of them and making bets on if/when Kol would marry Bonnie and when Stefan and Rebekah would have a baby.


	16. Chapter 16

**2 Years Later-Caroline and Klaus Graduation**

Caroline and Klaus kept stealing glances at each other from their seats as their graduation ceremony progressed. Every now and then they would look to the others on the side and see them wave frantically. Once Caroline received her diploma, she heard her friends hollering for her and she turned and smiled before walking off the stage. She gave Klaus a smile as she walked back to her seat and he gave her a smirk. She smiled as she thought back on the past 3 years; Kol and Bonnie had just gotten engaged the summer before and were planning on getting married in a month. Rebekah and Stefan were making plans to start trying for a baby when the time for their graduation approached. Klaus had started carrying a ring with him for Caroline for a year and had already visited her mother's grave and spoken to Stefan about marrying her. He kept waiting for the right time and as he kept watching her as it came to be his turn to take the stage, he knew it was getting close to the perfect time; he thought about the graduation party at the bar later and started coming up with a plan.

When the ceremony was over, they all went out to eat before heading to the bar. Caroline was a little surprised that Mikael and Esther went to the bar with them, but she didn't say anything. The manager decided to let them throw a small party there and reserved them an area near the bar. After they all had their first round of drinks, Klaus nodded to Stefan to keep Caroline distracted while he went to the stage and the manager went to stand by the lights for him. Stefan was having a hard time keeping Caroline distracted so Rebekah took over. She kept talking about New York until Rebekah smiled real big and Caroline heard Klaus on the microphone. She turned around quickly and nearly fell out of her chair wondering what he was up to.

_"Good evening everyone; I promise not to take up much time up here. Now most of the town knows that it was graduation for some of us today. I want to add to the celebration a little with my family and friends. You see… I have something in my pocket that I've been carrying around for the past year waiting to give it to the woman I love and have been with for nearly 3 years. Now… carrying this with me for a year has given many close calls on her finding it before it was the right time to give it to her. Caroline… from the day we met there was a pull to you that hasn't ever lightened or went away. I know that we have plans and things we want to do; like starting our careers and eventually moving. I don't want one single plan that doesn't have you in it love. I love you and I can promise that without a doubt, that will never change. Will you marry me?" _He asked and she started breathing a little heavy as her manager moved the light to them and the crowd was watching and waiting for her to answer him. She stood up and started walking towards the stage. She kept her face stoic as she stood right below him and held her arm her to wiggle her finger to beckon him to her. He hopped off the stage and held up the ring for her. She didn't even look at the ring before saying yes and breaking out with a smile before reaching to his neck to pull him in for a kiss. He took the ring and put it on her finger before breaking the kiss so she would look at it. When she looked down she broke out in another smile before looking back up to him and saying she loved him. He led her back to their table and they heard people clapping while they looked at their friends and family to see them getting up to reach for them.

_"Who's up for a double wedding?" _Kol chimed in and looked around the table.

_"Kol!" _Everyone hollered at the same time before laughing.

_"I'm serious guys." _Kol said before pouting and Bonnie smacked his arm.

_"Kol I just got the dresses done for you and Bonnie's wedding." _Caroline pointed out and Klaus grabbed her into a tight squeeze.

_"We do need to discuss when love." _Klaus said in her ear and she looked at him.

_"When were you thinking?" _Caroline asked hesitantly.

_"I would say as soon as possible, but I know you probably want to wait."_

_"I don't want a big wedding; just all of us."_

_"It's whatever you want love."_

_"Like I said; something small. You're wanting soon so how about a compromise?"_

_"What are you thinking?"_

_"The end of summer before they have to start classes. That will give me time to do the dresses."_

_"I agree with the time, but since it's our wedding how about another compromise?"_

_"And what would be compromising over?"_

_"How about you let someone else do your dresses? You shouldn't have to make your own dress love."_

_"This is what I went to school for; I like doing it."_

_"Alright love; I'll give in on this. Where do you want to get married?"_

_"I would say at the falls, but Bekah and Stefan already took that area. There's a place above the falls that gives a view of the town that's really pretty."_

_"Then that sounds perfect. Now… since you wouldn't budge on the dresses, I'm in charge of the honeymoon and it will be a surprise."_

_"But…"_

_"Nope love; it's all on me there."_

_"Hot or cold?"_

_"I'm thinking hot so I can keep you in the least amount of clothes as possible." _He said with a smirk and she laughed before turning back to everyone so they could give details. Once the plans were given they all sat back and celebrated until they were getting tired and they went home; with Mikael and Ester making their way back to D.C. When the group arrived home, Caroline pulled Stefan back with them to ask him about the wedding.

_"Hey would you do me a favor?"_

_"Sure, what do you need?"_

_"Well I was thinking and though I know you'll probably end up a groomsman, I still need someone to give me away. I just don't see anyone but you doing that for me."_

_"I'll be happy to walk you down the aisle and give you away. I'll just go to my place after I do that."_

_"Thanks Stef."_

_"It's no problem Care. I better get to bed though; Bekah is going to be in a planning frenzy all summer from all of you getting married." _Stefan replied and gave them a hug before heading to his room. Klaus picked Caroline up and spun her around before she had any time to react but she let loose a fit of giggles and had to clamp her mouth shut so she wouldn't keep everyone awake. Klaus held out his hand after he set her back down and she took it while he led them upstairs to grab some swimwear. She caught on quickly and changed before they grabbed the stereo and headed to the Jacuzzis. Klaus set up the stereo while Caroline stepped into the Jacuzzi and started untying the strings on the bottom piece of her bikini. She saw Klaus still had his back turned and quickly slid the piece over the edge of the Jacuzzi so he wouldn't see it. When he stepped in she took his hands and put them along the edge and told him not to move them. He gave her a smirk when he saw her flirty smile as she pulled his shorts off and tossed them over the side.

_"Now do not move. I can hold my breath for a little while, but I will have to breathe at some point." _She explained as she stroked him with her hand and he caught on to what she was saying.

_"Sweetheart, I'm sure that will be a little difficult."_

_"Maybe so but don't even try to stop me or I'll start over and then you'll have to wait longer." _She explained with her own smirk as she took one of his hands and brought it under the water to show him that she was already prepared for after. He sucked in a breath and leaned forward to kiss her. She let him kiss her before gently pushing him back against the side and putting his hand back where she had put it before. Then she stopped stroking him so she could tie her hair up in a bun and remove her top before she resumed and held her breath. Klaus watched her head go under before he felt her mouth close around him and pull him all the way in. Klaus grit his teeth and dropped his head back as he clenched the sides of the Jacuzzi and he felt her hands and mouth working him while her breast glided up and down his thighs. She kept her hands working him each time she had to catch her breath and when she felt him jerking she quickly went back under to finish him off. When he released she swallowed quickly and slowly pulled away from him before she came back out of the water. She barely had time to catch her breath before Klaus reached for her and pulled her in his lap while crushing his lips to hers. She used his shoulders as leverage to push herself up so she could push him in and Klaus flipped them around so she was sitting on the seat before he pulled her off and she had to brace her hands on the seat instead. As his thrust picked up he noticed Caroline's hands kept slipping and she was about to fall under the water, so he reached an arm around her and pulled flush against her, pausing to slide his hand up and remove her hair tie so she could thread his fingers through her hair, as his other arm reached around her waist and pulled her down again.

They didn't pull away from each other until early dawn as they made their way inside to get some sleep and everybody else got up to begin their day. Everyone knew to not disturb the newly engaged couple upstairs since they knew they would have been up all night celebrating together. As the weeks progressed, Kol and Bonnie's wedding came around and they had decided to get married at one of the lake houses in Mystic Falls. Caroline made the joke to Elena to not even dare going into labor, and since Elena was only 6 months along this time, she easily agreed. Bonnie had decided to make Zachary the ring bearer and Finn's daughter the flower girl; Caroline had also planned the same for her upcoming wedding since their outfits would still match and fit by then. The wedding passed by without a hitch and Klaus and Caroline made sure they caught the garter and bouquet since their wedding was a month away. After the reception, Kol picked Bonnie up and ran off the end of the dock saying it was time to whisk his woman away. When they came back up everyone was laughing except for Bonnie who ended up swimming to chase Kol through the water. When she couldn't catch him, she climbed back on the dock and Caroline brought her a towel, telling her she had a change of clothes inside. Bonnie and Kol took off into the house to change before they left to begin their honeymoon. Everyone else went their separate ways since Rebekah and Stefan had an anniversary coming up and they were going on a trip for it. Klaus and Caroline went back home to enjoy another week to themselves before everyone would come back and their wedding would come up on them.


	17. Chapter 17

**Wedding and Honeymoon**

The night before Klaus and Caroline's wedding hardly anybody got any sleep as Klaus and Caroline kept trying to sneak out and see each other; they finally had to resort to talking on the phone until they were both too tired to stay awake. The next morning everyone was a little crabby from the lack of sleep from the night before. When the girls were getting ready, Rebekah brought in one of her pearl necklaces for the something borrowed, while Bonnie gave her a ring with a blue sapphire gem in it so she could have something blue. Caroline wore the bracelet Klaus had given her during their first Christmas for something old since it was already an heirloom when she got it, and Esther brought in a small tiara with pearls and diamonds for something new. When she was ready she focused on keeping her breathing calm as they rode up to the top of the falls and Caroline snuck into the tent so Klaus couldn't see her; or she see him since she was already fighting the urge to steal a peek. Once again she gave Elena the same warning about going into labor and Elena simply replied it was still too early. Stefan made his way inside the tent when they heard the music begin and Caroline nearly cried when he came up and hugged her. When all the girls had made their way down the aisle, Stefan asked if she was ready and she gave him a nervous nod before he started walking her behind them. Caroline nearly stumbled when they exited the tent and the bright sunlight hit her, but Stefan held her arm steady and walked slowly to cover the stumble.

When they made it all the way up the aisle, Stefan took her hand and gave it to Klaus as he gave her a hug and went to take his place with the other groomsmen. Caroline and Klaus didn't break eye contact the whole time they exchanged their vows and put on the rings. When they were pronounced man and wife and told to kiss, they didn't hesitate and didn't tear apart from each other until Stefan cleared his throat and everybody laughed; causing Caroline to hide in the crook of Klaus' neck. During the reception she noticed both Bonnie and Rebekah having difficulty without getting sick.

_"Are you guys alright? You both look like you're going to blow chunks everywhere."_

_"Must be something we at or something?" _Rebekah replied and Bonnie nodded in agreement.

_"No freaking way!" _Caroline exclaimed and covered her mouth in giggles.

_"What?" _Both girls asked as they looked back and forth between each other and Caroline.

_"Do me a favor; when you guys get home take some pregnancy tests. Or better yet, you can go to the doctor when we leave and send a text to tell me the results."_

_"There's no way. I just got married a month ago Care." _Bonnie said in denial and Rebekah looked like she was in deep thought.

_"I swear I didn't have just one but three pregnant women as bridesmaids." _Caroline said and shook her head with a laugh. Later that evening, Bonnie and Rebekah asked Caroline to wait before she left so they could run to the doctor before the reception was over. When they got back Bonnie threw Caroline a glare and Rebekah was barely containing her excitement. They showed her the papers and Caroline grabbed the girls' hands and told them to make the announcement and surprise the guys. Rebekah went first since she had been married longer and was more excited about it. When Rebekah called everybody to attention, she told Stefan to sit and then she's yelled she was pregnant; making the microphone squeak and Stefan ran up to the stage to pull her down and spin her around. While everyone was focusing on Stefan and Rebekah, Bonnie snuck up to the microphone and got Kol's attention. He turned ghostly white and she nervously said that she was pregnant too before hollering for him as he fainted. Klaus was standing close enough to catch his brother and Esther went to the stage to help Bonnie down so they could check on Kol. Bonnie's nerves grew as Damon brought some smelling salts over to wake Kol up. When he woke up he smiled at Bonnie and asked her if it was true. She hesitantly handed him the paper and he quickly took it and read it before hollering out and pulling Bonnie down with him. Klaus came up and wrapped his arm around Caroline's shoulders and she bent her head to him.

_"Are there any more?"_

_"Nope and don't get any ideas." _She said with a laugh before kissing him. Since the reception was basically over, Klaus refused to let Caroline change before they left to go to the airport. When she stepped out of the car, Klaus picked her up and took her on the plane before running back and helping grab the bags. Caroline ran to her bag and got out a dress she had packed to begin her honeymoon and dashed into the bathroom. Before she could shut the door, Klaus ducked in with her and gave her a smirk before lifting her and putting her on the sink.

_"Now love I told you not to change yet."_

_"Aren't you the least bit curious as to what I put on under the dress?" _She teased and he pulled her back out to their seats while she gave him a look.

_"We aren't consummating this marriage before we're in the air sweetheart." _He teased back and started gliding his hand up the bottom of her dress.

_"Won't someone come back here?"_

_"No love; I made sure we were the only people on this plane besides the pilots and they aren't leaving the cockpit. We have this whole cabin to ourselves…" _He trailed off as the seatbelt sign turned off and he undid their belts before he pulled her from the seat and took her over to the onboard couch to pull it flat into a bed. She raised an eyebrow at him and tossed the dress she had taken to the bathroom with her down on the seat next to the couch.

By the time the plane landed they barely had time to get their clothes on and wedding clothes packed up before the pilots announced their entrance to the cabin. When they arrived at the little beach villa in the Caribbean they immediately went to change so they could go swimming. The villa had a private beach so they had no problem taking advantage of that while they were in the water. Most of their time was spent at the villa, but there were a few times they managed to make it out to go to the local town to enjoy the sights and foods the place had to offer. Caroline almost didn't want to go home by the time their honeymoon was over, but everyone else would be starting their classes soon and she and Klaus had a lot of work to do before they went to New York to set up the houses for everyone before they graduated. Caroline thought it would take longer to complete a portfolio and even longer for someone to accept it, but she had finished early and got her designs excepted at one of the top places in the city, so she and Klaus made the move early and overlooked the building plans as the houses were completed. By the time everyone else graduated, Bonnie and Rebekah had both given birth to baby girls that Klaus and Caroline held while everyone graduated.


	18. Chapter 18

**One Year and 4 months past everyone else's Graduation**

Caroline stepped over next door to Rebekah and Stefan's house to pick up a list for the store after her appointment, and Rebekah noticed she looked tired. She didn't want to say anything, but as they kept talking she had to get her focus back to the conversation.

_"Caroline are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine; I'm just tired from being up all night working on the new designs. I'm turning them in before I go to my appointment."_

_"Another shot?"_

_"Yes Rebekah I'm getting another shot. I just got to the point where I'm not working as much and I'm stable. I only have to go in when the designs have been made, and even that's optional with video chat."_

_"I told you that you wouldn't have a problem. I'm just wondering if you're sure it isn't the right time to start trying to make an addition."_

_"Rebekah, we've been married for 2 years; we just had our anniversary. We just want some time for us before we add another member of the family. Besides, all of you keep multiplying enough for me to be around babies all the time without the full responsibility."_

_"You bloody spoil them rotten."_

_"That's what aunts are for; the spoil and let them get away with stuff when mommy and daddy aren't looking."_

_"I'll remember that when you and Nik give me a niece or nephew."_

_"When we do, you'll be the first to know. Now, I got to go." _Caroline replied as she finished her coffee and grabbed the list to go. She stopped by work before heading to the doctor's office to get her depo shot. Everything was going normal until the doctor came back in the room and sat down.

_"Well it looks like you won't be getting the shot today."_

_"Oh, well I can reschedule if there's a problem. When is a good time?"_

_"You're not getting my point dear. I just got your results back from the pregnancy test we ran. You're pregnant. I need you to follow me to the ultrasound room so we can get an estimated due date since you have either a light period or no period at all."_

_"Are you sure? I mean we use the paper every time. If there's an X we use protection. How can I be pregnant using 2 forms of birth control?"_

_"You cycle may have changed as you've grown older. That happens from time to time. Without being aware of a change, we would have tracked your cycle the same as always."_

_"Still… 2 forms of birth control… is it possible it's a false positive?"_

_"It's possible, but we'll run the ultrasound to be sure. Have you had any symptoms?"_

_"No."_

_"Have you been pregnant before?"_

_"Yes, it's on my file; you've asked me before."_

_"Yes, but I have a lot of patients and it's hard to remember without looking at the paper. I'd rather ask you about your last pregnancy."_

_"What about it?"_

_"Did you make it full-term?"_

_"No, I miscarried at 11 weeks."_

_"What was the reason for your miscarriage?"_

_"My boyfriend at that time didn't take learning about my pregnancy too well and pushed me down a flight of stairs. Along with the miscarriage it broke some bones and other things."_

_"Are you in a stable relationship now?"_

_"Yes, I've been married for two years"_

_"Are you worried about how your husband will take the news?"_

_"No I know he'll be excited about it. All of his siblings have children and everybody's been watching us since we've been together waiting on him to knock me up."_

_"So, what are your concerns?"_

_"My mother had multiple miscarriages before I was born and I was premature."_

_"Did this run on your father's side?"_

_"No."_

_"Are you aware of any problems on your husband's side of the family?"_

_"No, they all had happy healthy babies. Although, he had two sets of siblings that were twins."_

_"Since you've been on this type of birth control, you're at a higher risk of having multiples as it is. With your husband having multiples run in his family, it's even higher. We need to give you that ultrasound now." _He stated and she nodded numbly before standing to follow him to another room where he told her to lay flat and pull her shirt up. He squirted the gel on her stomach and she jumped from the cold. When he got everything in place she heard the sound of heartbeats and looked to the screen. She dropped her jaw when she saw not one, but two babies inside of her and she looked down at her stomach.

_"How far?" _She whispered and the doctor took some measurements before he turned to answer her.

_"You're roughly 9 weeks. I'll print you some copies." _He answered and hit the button to print some copies before handing them to her and telling her she could clean her stomach up. When she finished cleaning up and scheduling her next appointment, they gave her some prenatal vitamins and she stopped to look at the ultrasound photos again. A smile broke out on her face as she tucked them into her purse and went to the store like she had planned. When she pulled up at Stefan and Rebekah's she ran inside and told Stefan to pack in the groceries before she pulled Rebekah aside and showed her the photos. Rebekah's eyes grew wide before she squealed and pulled Caroline into a hug and yelled for Stefan. When Stefan came running in, Rebekah flipped the photo around looked at Caroline who was smiling before he smiled and gave her a hug too.

_"I don't think I can wait until Klaus comes home to tell him. I'm going to make him a surprise and take it to him."_

_"He'll love it all Care. We're happy for you guys." _Stefan said as he pulled Rebekah into him and Caroline made her way over to her house to gather him some lunch. When she pulled into the building to park, she pulled the photos out to look at them again before she put them in her purse and grabbed Klaus' lunch from the seat. She made her way up the different floors in the elevator before heading towards in studio area. When she saw the door halfway closed she paused before walking slowly over to it to peek in so she could surprise him better. When she looked in she saw a woman leaning towards Klaus and he was sitting against his desk. As the woman got closer, Caroline pulled away from the door and ran back towards the elevator. The receptionist saw her and tried to talk to her, but Caroline just placed the bag on her desk and left. Before the elevator doors could close, she started losing control of the tears that had formed on her face. When she left his office, she went straight home and started throwing her clothes into her suitcases before grabbing her work supplies and the albums Klaus had drawn her over the years and put them in the car. Rebekah and Stefan came running over once they realized she was filling her car up.

_"Caroline what happened?" _Rebekah asked and Caroline tensed before continuing packing her car up.

_"I don't want to talk about it."_

_"Care, what's going on? Where are you going? What did he say?" _Stefan asked.

_"He didn't say anything. He didn't even know I was there okay? I'm leaving and I don't want to talk about it. I just need to be alone for a while, but I'll call you guys soon. I love you both so just don't come after me." _She finished and got into the car. When she sped away, Rebekah and Stefan ran to Bonnie and Kol's to have them watch their daughter so they could find out what happened. They drove to Klaus' studio and barged into his office.

_"What are you two doing here?" _Klaus asked as he looked up to see them looking at him and fuming. _"What's going on?"_

_"Caroline left and we were hoping you could tell us why she would do that after she came here." _Stefan said as he was visibly shaking in anger.

_"When did Caroline come here?"_

_"Earlier, but she said you didn't see her." _Rebekah answered before bending over the desks to look at her brother. _So do you mind telling us what she could have seen to make her go home and pack her things and leave?"_

_"I haven't done anything! I've had multiple people around me all day that can verify that and everywhere here has a camera if you remember." _Klaus said as he stood and pulled his phone out to call Caroline. When her phone went straight to voicemail, he dropped it to his desk and tried to think of what she could have seen to drive her away. _"Wait a minute… that slut that came in here earlier tried to make a pass at me, but I turned her down. There were 6 other people in the corner of the room that can back me up. That's the only thing I can think of." _He mused as he began pacing the room before he pushed the intercom and had everyone from earlier come into the room. _"Here everybody is. They can tell you that I didn't do anything."_

_"If you're referring to that woman earlier, we can all say he made her leave and threatened to report her to the police if she returned." _One of them said and they all nodded in agreement. About that time, the receptionist had come in and overheard what was happening.

_"Sir I saw your wife shortly before the woman came storming out of your office. She put a bag of food on my desk and ran to the elevator. She looked quite distressed, but I couldn't get her to stay." _She said quickly and ran to get the bag for Klaus. He looked through the bag and saw she had made two lunches and brought a bottle of orange juice and a bottle of champagne.

_"What did she bring this for?" _Klaus asked as he held up the bottle of champagne.

_"She came to tell you something important Nik." _Rebekah said softly as her anger faded and tears popped up in her eyes. Stefan pulled her into him before looking up at Klaus.

_"You need to find her Klaus. I don't think she stayed in the city and she told us to not look for her. I think she's went back home." _He said as he dropped his head.

_"What was she going to tell me?" _Klaus asked seriously looking between them both. Rebekah sniffled before she raised up her head and looked at him.

_"Are you seriously asking us that question Nik? Think about it… she was supposed to get her shot today. The doctor couldn't give it to her."_

_"You mean…"_

_"Yeah. She's 9 weeks and its twins Nik." _Rebekah whispered to him and he sunk back down to his chair. He excused the other workers from the room and pulled up the security footage to make a copy of earlier before he grabbed his jacket and started to leave. _"Nik please find her fast." _Rebekah said quickly as he ran to the elevators and hit the button.

_"If she calls or texts either of you let me know; I'm going to look for her." _Klaus said as the elevators doors opened and they rushed to join him before the doors shut. When the doors opened back up, Klaus didn't say anything as he ran to his car and took off to begin his search. As he was driving he hooked up his Bluetooth so he could call around and ask about her. He called Damon and told him that she could be on her way there so he could keep a lookout for her. Then he explained what happened before he hung up and started checking her card to see if she had used it anywhere. Finally Stefan called him and said she had sent a text saying she was safe and where she needed to be, but she didn't say where and she wasn't answering any texts or calls. Klaus drove straight through only stopping for gas to Mystic Falls, but she wasn't at the boarding house, Bonnie's father's house, or her old house. He then went to check the cemetery, but he didn't see her there either. He bent down at Liz's grave to ask for some help before driving to the falls. When he got there, he saw her car and started looking around. When he climbed the trail to where they had gotten married, he looked around again and saw her keychain lying on the ground. He started screaming for her and running through the woods in search, but he still couldn't find her. He went back to her car and noticed she had talking the albums with the drawings when she had left and he began to panic more. When his cell phone rang, he answered it quickly and heard an unfamiliar voice on the other line telling him that she was at the hospital. He told them she was pregnant and they replied that they had already figured that out, but they would take him to her when he came down.

Klaus quickly called Damon to swing by the hospital and get Caroline's keys so he could pick her car up and then he let everyone know where he was headed. At the hospital Caroline signed herself out and started walking towards her old house; stopping near the alley that her mother had been shot and killed. When she saw Klaus' car she ducked off the street to wait until it passed. She started crying again while trying to figure out why he would bother coming to look for her now. She put her hands on her head and tried to think of a place he wouldn't look for her and she remembered how her and her friends had put together a little tree fort from an old treehouse when they were younger and she wondered if it was still there. She began walking to the place she hadn't seen since she was about 12; the last place she felt she could go. When Klaus got to the hospital Damon was already there and cussing out a nurse. When he turned and saw Klaus he walked over to him.

_"She signed herself out a little bit after they called you." _Damon said.

_"What happened? Why was she here?"_

_"A couple of hikers found her at the top of the falls and they thought something had happened to her. The doctor said that it must be a lot of stress because her blood pressure was up and she is really dehydrated."_

_"Damon… is there anywhere I can look that I don't know about?"_

_"You would have to ask Bonnie or Elena about that. Most of the places you know are the same as I know." _Damon replied and pulled out his phone to call Elena while Klaus pulled out his phone to dial Bonnie.

_"Hello? Have you found her?"_

_"Not yet, but I almost did. She was at the hospital a little bit ago. Listen; is there anywhere she would go that I don't know about? I've checked every place she's ever shown me."_

_"Not that I can think of… we usually just ran to each other's houses if we had a problem."_

_"Where would she run if she wanted to be alone and no one find her?"_

_"I don't know; she was usually alone if her mom wasn't home and we would take turns at each other's houses."_

_"You all didn't have a place your parents didn't know about?"_

_"We had several hangouts, but none of them are the same and some are probably gone by now."_

_"Just send me a list please. It's getting ready to rain and she doesn't have her car; she left it at the falls."_

_"What is she thinking?"_

_"She's thinking that I hurt her. I didn't but she doesn't know that." _He said and was about to punch the wall when Damon came running up to him with Elena still on the phone.

_"Elena just skimmed through her diaries… there's a place they all used to go before they were teenagers. It's in the middle of the woods so Elena is calling a sitter to come and she'll take us there or we wouldn't find it." _Damon finished and Klaus repeated everything to Bonnie.

_"I remember that place. We found it when we were playing in the woods. We thought it was perfect because it was about the same distance from all of our houses. It was a treehouse we fixed up and it became a little fort we would go when we wanted away from other people."_

_"How did you not remember it before?"_

_"Because we haven't even talked about it since we were in middle school. I didn't spend as much time there as the others, and I only ever went there with them."_

_"Alright; I'll let you know if we find her. Keep thinking of places in case we don't." _Klaus said as he hung up the phone and looked to Damon. Damon told him they had to go pick Elena up because it would be quicker than her meeting them after the babysitter got there. When they picked up Elena they drove to the Forbes house and parked; Elena took out a flashlight and started walking to the woods. Klaus grabbed a blanket and an umbrella from the car before he followed after her and Damon. Is started raining not long after they entered the woods and Klaus opened the umbrella to hand it to them. Elena took the blanket from him and told him that she would go check first and if she was there she would talk to her. Klaus was about to ask how much further when she shone her light up and he saw the treehouse. He started to run forward but Damon held him back and Elena moved up to check. Damon and Klaus moved forward to listen in if she was up there.

_"Caroline? How did I know that you'd run here?"_

_"What are you doing here Elena?"_

_"I came looking for you Care. Listen; let's get you out of here. It's not safe here anymore and it's raining; you need to think of the babies."_

_"I just needed to be alone and think for a while. I'll be fine so just go home."_

_"Not until you're out of here. We need to get you home."_

_"I don't have a home anymore Elena! I thought I did but that was just me being blind. I should have known it was too good to be true."_

_"You do have a home Caroline. Klaus loves you…"_

_"Really? Because the woman I saw leaning towards him in his office didn't make it look like he loved me enough. I heard her say she knew he was interested in her, but I just couldn't stay and watch everything fall apart."_

_"Caroline he didn't do it?"_

_"How do you know Elena? You weren't there so you wouldn't have seen it."_

_"Come down Caroline. Let him talk to you; explain what you didn't see."_

_"Why? I'm tired of getting hurt Elena. You'd think I'd learn to just give up already. I'm not going through this again; I can't. I'll give him a divorce and I'll just go away."_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"I'm talking about the fact that I feel like my insides are being torn out and I can barely breathe right now. I don't want to feel this way again so I will not fall in love again; Klaus will be the last man I love even if he doesn't love me anymore."_

_"He does love you though; just go down and talk to him."_

_"You brought him here?" _Caroline asked and pushed away from Elena. _"Why would you bring him here?"_

_"Because you need to let him talk to you. He didn't do anything Care and he has the proof to show you."_

_"Just leave me alone Elena."_

_"Care…"_

_"Get out." _She said through grit teeth and Elena dropped the blanket to her before climbing down. Klaus whispered for Damon to go call everyone and let them know they found her before he climbed up.

_"Caroline…"_

_"Get out."_

_"I'm not leaving love, and neither are you."_

_"Klaus just go…"_

_"No. You know when I found out you came to the office, Stefan and Rebekah were looking at me like they wanted to murder me on the spot and I didn't know why. I couldn't think of what would have caused you to run away until I remembered the woman in the office earlier. She did come on to me love, but I declined and pushed her away. I had 6 other people in my office working in the corner of the room and you know I have cameras set up around the studio that can prove I'm telling you the truth."_

_"You may not have slept with her, but I saw you look at her; you thought about it."_

_"I actually didn't think about it love. When I kicked her out of the studio I threatened to call the cops if she came back. The receptionist could tell you that she left my office right after you did. You never leave my thoughts love and I wouldn't hurt you." _He said looking right at her as he crawled closer to her. She moved back until her back hit the wall before she tried to get up on her knees so she could move around him, but he blocked her off and took her face in his hands. _"I do still love you; as much as I did when we began and so much more. How could you think you're anything less than the last woman I will love in my life?" _He stressed before he reached his head down to kiss her. She fought against him at first, but he didn't give up until she was returning his kiss with as much passion and intensity as he was giving her. When they broke apart they were both breathing hard as they looked at each other. _"Did that feel like I don't love you anymore?"_

_"No." _She breathed and closed her eyes releasing fresh tears. Klaus wiped them with his thumbs before he leaned down and kissed her again. _"I'm sorry I ran." _She whispered after pulling away from him and ducking her head down. He kissed her on her temple before he looked around what was left of the childhood fort.

_"It'll be alright love. Let's get you out of here and into something dry and warm. You need to go back to the doctor."_

_"Why?"_

_"Your blood pressure was up and you're dehydrated. They need to give you some fluids in an IV, but I think your blood pressure will go back down now."_

_"I better go, but can I wait until we go home?"_

_"No, we'll stay with Damon and Elena until tomorrow. Stefan is flying in to drive my car back and we're taking yours. You're going to get changed and I'm going to take you to see the doctor, and then you're going to get some rest."_

_"I'm not tired…"_

_"Caroline the doctor already said you should have been resting when you left. Now, let's go make sure everything is fine and then you're going to bed." _He said as he held out his hand and leaned back. She took it and they awkwardly climbed down. The rain started dying down and Klaus picked Caroline up to carry her through the woods with her protesting the whole way. Klaus dropped Damon and Elena off at his cruiser as he and Caroline went on to the hospital. At the hospital the doctor decided to keep her overnight because her blood pressure hadn't gone down yet, so Klaus called Damon and let him know to not expect them that night. Throughout the night her blood pressure stayed up until she fell asleep and it lowered to normal a couple hours after. Once her blood pressure was stable and she had been given enough fluids, the doctor discharged her and they drove to the boarding house. Caroline was surprised to see her car there already, but Damon and Elena explained that they had picked it up on the way back home instead of waiting for morning.

Stefan arrived a couple hours later and looked relieved when he saw Caroline was okay; even though she looked lost in thought and tired. He went over and gave her a small hug before she stretched out on the couch with a yawn. Klaus told him the doctor had told her to rest as much as she could and to take things easy; Stefan noticed she wasn't her normal ball of energy since she fell right asleep after stretching out. When she woke back up the three of them started the drive back to New York; Stefan by himself and Klaus with Caroline. Caroline slept most of the way back, so Klaus called work for her and told them to not expect her in for a while and said she'd most likely be working from home. Then he called his office to let his assistants know he would be working at home and they would need to pick up his work and delivery it where it was needed.

When they got back to the house Klaus carried a sleeping Caroline inside and put her in bed before going out to her car to get her things out. When he had everything inside he looked to make sure Caroline was still sleeping before he ran to get a quick shower before he would work on hanging up her clothes. When he was about halfway through hanging up clothes, he felt her hand on his shoulder and turned to look at her.

_"Do you feel better love?"_

_"A little bit. I guess I'm going to be tired this time too." _She said with a small smile and looked down to her stomach. Klaus lifted her shirt to look at her still flat stomach looking for any kind of bump forming.

_"I would figure having two in there you would be showing at least a little by now." _Klaus said as he lowered her shirt back down and looked at her face.

_"I'll be as big as the house before it's over so don't rush the bump."_

_"You'll still be beautiful to me love. Is being tired the only thing that's the same?"_

_"Yeah… it looks like I'm not having morning sickness this time and I'm glad about that. I'm not swelled anywhere and I'm not gassy. I didn't have any sign except for being a little tired when the doctor told me. I didn't believe him at first, but he showed me on the ultrasound."_

_"I wish I had been there love."_

_"I was just supposed to get my shot. He said my cycle could have changed and they told us the wrong days or one of the condoms could have had a problem. Either way… we're knocked up. And he said he wasn't for sure we were having twins because it runs in your family or because it can happen when you get pregnant on birth control; he thinks it's both though."_

_"Are you scared that it's twins?"_

_"No; just don't make a habit out of it. Are you worried about it?"_

_"I'm just worried about getting you through the pregnancy first love. I called work earlier for both of us so we could work from home. I want you off your feet as much as possible love."_

_"I can't sleep through the pregnancy Klaus; I'll have to be on my feet some or I'll go crazy."_

_"I know that love, but twins are harder to carry than just one and it's already a possibility for complications like your mother had. I wouldn't be surprised if the doctor labels you high risk and puts you on bed rest the entire time."_

_"I'll hurt him if he does. II understand that the further along I get the harder it will be for me to move around, but that's later; way later. The blood pressure thing has to be from stress; we've both been working a lot and then the last couple days happened."_

_"Precisely love, so you need to be home resting; you can still work from here. It's not worth the risks to you or the babies."_

_"I figured you would be like this." _She said as she looked up to him with a small smile. _"I know you were hoping I wouldn't get my shot and we could start trying. It was one of the reasons I freaked out so bad when came to your office. I knew you would be excited and I tried to surprise you with lunch and the ultrasound photos." _She finished as she walked back to the bedroom and looked for her purse. When she found her purse, she pulled the photos out and took them to him. _"Here; take a look?"_

_"They're so tiny…"_

_"They're about the size of a pea each from what I remember. Everything looks normal with them and they're in a good spot, so they should be okay. I have to go back in 2 weeks for my next check-up if you want to go." _She rambled as she started hanging up clothes with him since he had paused.

_"Shouldn't you go ahead and have another check-up since you just had to spend the night in the hospital?"_

_"Probably. I'll call them in the morning and see what they want me to do. They'll probably have me run in there and still keep my next appointment."_

_"Better safe than sorry love. Now quit hanging up clothes and I'll finish it up when you eat something." _He said as he took the hanger from her and put his hands on her waist.

_"Trying to speed up the bump will not work; you'll only get me fat." _She joked and he chuckled before he leaned down into her neck and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

_"I thought I'd lost you love. I looked everywhere I knew to look for you and I couldn't find you." _He said as he held on to her and felt her squeezing him back.

_"I thought you gave me up and didn't care anymore."_

_"Neither love. Do me a favor and talk to me if you ever think that again." _He said as he pulled back to look at her. She gave him a nod and sniffled before he wiped a tear that had escaped and kissed her again. He pulled back to make her go lie down in the bed while he went downstairs to make her something to eat. After she ate the soup and sandwich Klaus made her, she scooted down in the bed and he moved the tray so he could lay with her. He pull her shirt up to rub her stomach and place little kisses on it while she rubbed her fingers through his hair. When her fingers slowed Klaus looked up and saw she had fallen asleep again so he lowered her shirt back down, covered them up and turned off the light to get some sleep as well.

The next day Stefan, Rebekah, Kol, Bonnie, and the girls came over to see how Caroline was doing after she went to the doctor. They explained that she was on moderated bed rest until further notice and would likely be on it permanently further towards the end of her pregnancy. Kol kept joking with Klaus saying that the twins would be as bad as he and Rebekah growing up, but Klaus just shook his head. They did wonder who the kids would take after more, but they knew it wouldn't matter to them as long as they were healthy.


	19. Chapter 19

**27 Weeks Later**

Caroline felt like she was going to pop at any time as she made it home from her 36 week check-up. Klaus had to run and drop off their work at their jobs so Rebekah had taken her to her exam. Caroline made her way to the living room and stretched out on the couch while Rebekah went to get Stefan and Lily, their daughter, before coming back to sit with Caroline until Klaus could make it back. Caroline noticed that no matter which way she turned, she kept feeling pain running through her back and upper thighs before it would go to her stomach. Rebekah noticed her discomfort and got her a body pillow before putting in a movie to help her relax. About halfway through the movie, Caroline noticed the pain wasn't slacking off and she was feeling sick to her stomach. She pushed herself up off the couch and went to the trash can in the kitchen to throw up her food from that day.

_"Care are you alright?" _Stefan asked and Rebekah got up to rub Caroline's back as she leaned over the kitchen counter top.

_"Yeah I just got sick. I think it's from being so uncomfortable though; my back just won't stop."_

_"Caroline I think you're in labor." _Rebekah said.

_"I think so too; feels like a cramp my ass." _She muttered so Lily wouldn't hear as she tensed against the pain. Rebekah pulled out her phone and dialed Klaus' number.

_"Bekah; calling to tell me what I missed today?"_

_"No Nik I'm calling because we think Caroline's in labor; and she agrees. Nik she 's cussing so you know it's serious."_

_"Have you left for the hospital yet?"_

_"No she wants to wait on you. Will you tell her you'll meet her there so she'll get in the car?"_

_"Sure put her on."_

_"Klaus?" _Caroline asked.

_"Yes love. You need to let them get you to the hospital and I will head over there now. I will meet you there and you won't have to feel the pain as long if you leave now."_

_"Where are you?"_

_"I was just leaving your office. I'll call mine and tell them I won't be by. Just get to the hospital. We'll get there about the same time if you leave right now sweetheart."_

_"I barely made it to the kitchen from the living room. It's going to take a while to get to the car."_

_"Let Stefan carry you love."_

_"Like hell! Stefan Salvatore will not be carrying me to the freaking car. I am only in labor, not helpless. Just get your happy ass to the hospital and I will see you there. Okay?" _She bit out through gritted teeth as the pain intensified again.

_"I'll be there soon love. I'll see you there. I can turn on the Bluetooth if you want to stay on the phone."_

_"I love you but no. Right now I feel like I'm going to crush the phone into little tiny pieces and throw the pieces into people's eyes." _She said as she started walking to the door, grabbing her purse along the way. Rebekah grabbed Lily and Stefan ran upstairs to get Caroline's bag for the hospital. As Stefan was loading up the car and Caroline was trying to sit down in it, Rebekah ran Lily to Bonnie and Kol's house. They quickly said they would load the kids up and bring them in a little bit. True to his word Klaus was waiting when they pulled into the entrance of the hospital and ran to help Caroline out of the car. Caroline got put in a room so she could be prepped for a C-section and Klaus was given some scrubs and a hair cover to dress in so he could be in the room with her. By the time they showed him to Caroline she was looking up at the ceiling since she couldn't see much else and they were rubbing her down with antiseptic to get ready for the cut. Klaus went to stand by her head and kiss her forehead as she made faces from the pressure she felt.

When they heard the first cry they both looked up and saw the doctor briefly hold up their first son before handing him to the nurse. Caroline turned her head so she could watch the nurse with their first born, but her attention was brought back to center when they heard the second set of wailing begin. They waited as the doctor prepared him and showed him to the parents before handing their second son to another nurse. Caroline kept her head turned to look at the boys as Klaus sat in the chair they gave him to kiss her fore head and look to the boys. Since the boys were still a little early and a little small, they took them back to NICU after pausing to let Klaus and Caroline look at them. Once Caroline was closed up, they put her in a recovery room and Klaus went to check on the boys for her. Once they were weighed and assessed, they gave him the information and he took some photos with his phone so Caroline and the others could see. He also wrote down their names for the nurses to copy to their bed cards; they had agreed months prior when they found out that both would be boys.

Klaus went back to Caroline to show her the photos and she couldn't help but cry and smile when she looked at them. She knew it would be a while before she got to see them since she had surgery and they were in the NICU, so she didn't want to let go of the phone. Eventually everyone came in to visit her and Klaus would pry the phone from Caroline to show them the pictures. When they asked the names, none of them were surprised; Niklaus Henrik and William Matthew. Rebekah pulled out her phone and texted the rest of the family so they could come and visit when everyone got to go home. Caroline decided to sleep as much as she could until they would let her see the boys, so everyone left shortly after but told them to take more pictures. When Caroline finally got to go back to the NICU and see them, she sat down carefully and let the nurse help her and Klaus feed and hold them since they had multiple lines running from them both. While they were in there, the doctor came by to tell them that little Niklaus would get to go home sooner since he only had to gain 2 ounces to leave and was breathing and eating fine. However, William would have to stay until he gained 10 ounces and could swallow better, but both of them were breathing on their own and maintaining body temperature so they were pretty healthy for being early. Both Klaus and Caroline were relieved at the news that their children were doing okay, but they wished William could leave when his brother got to come home. Little Niklaus left the hospital after 4 days, but William took an additional 4 days to get hi weight up enough to go home. When everybody was home, everybody threw a party for Klaus, Caroline, and the boys. Later that night, Klaus and Caroline stood looking over the side of the crib at the boys while holding on to each other. Klaus made a joke on when the next one was and earned a glare from Caroline before she replied at least a couple years.


	20. Chapter 20

**Epilogue 5 Years Later**

Klaus was pacing the waiting room floor since he wasn't allowed back for this delivery while Rebekah was on the phone with Esther asking how she was handling all of the grandkids at once. In the last 5 years, both Bonnie and Rebekah had another child each; Rebekah had another girl and Bonnie had a boy. Katherine and Elijah had a set of twins that was a boy and a girl, and Finn and Sage had 2 more children. Caroline and Klaus had managed to conceive a daughter during their last pregnancy that had just turned a year old a month prior and Ester and Mikael were watching all of the grandkids with the help of Elijah, Katherine, Finn, and Sage. Everyone was excited for Caroline and Klaus' latest pregnancy though; as Klaus paced he thought back to the day Caroline had told him about it.

-Flashback-

Klaus was watching the boys and playing with his daughter when Caroline came back from the doctor. Klaus saw her face and thought she was upset over the mess around the house that he and the kids had caused while she gone.

_"Don't worry love; I'll clean up the mess."_

_"Klaus… I'm not worried about the mess. You did it again." _She said and glared at him.

_"And what did I do that you are referring to sweetheart?"_

_"Don't you sweetheart me Klaus. How many kids do we have?"_

_"3… why?"_

_"How about double or nothing." _She said and handed him an ultrasound picture.

_"Wait a minute… you're pregnant again?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Triplets?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are they sure it wasn't a glitch or something?"_

_"They're as positive as the freaking test. I told you to not make a habit of knocking me up with more than one at a time." _She whined and looked at him with worry.

_"It'll be alright love. We'll get through it like we did with the boys. How far did they say your were?"_

_"6 weeks and if I didn't love you, you'd be missing body parts about right now."_

_"I realize that love. We'll get through this and since we're doubling the amount of kids we have in one go, do you want to talk about after? Are you going to keep on the shot or what?"_

_"Do you want more than 6 kids? If you're not I'm tying my tubes up. I love you and I love kids, but there's a limit."_

_"I agree. If you want to tie your tubes after we have the triplets, we'll tie your tubes."_

_"Thank you. I don't think I can stand another pregnancy on bed rest. Are you sure you're okay with this?"_

_"We wanted kids and we thought we would have a hard time having them. We've got 3 happy, healthy children right now love. Adding 3 to the ones we have are going to be double the fun." _Klaus replied as he kissed her awkwardly around their daughter, Elizabeth April.

-End of Flashback-

Klaus laughed as he remembered her face goes from fury to worry and on to smiling as the memory played out. He also remembered everyone else's reactions to the news of triplets in the family. Kol made the remark that he jinxed them to have triplets when they were in the old house and said he was Bekah's twin, and Caroline and Bekah were like twins, so he thought they should be triplets. Caroline had calmly walked up to him before giving her evil grin and he run before she smacked him, but he still got hit when she threw a shoe at him. He was pulled out of his memories when Stefan came up to him and clapped him on the shoulder.

_"They'll be fine man. She carried them long enough to survive; it'll be like it was with the boys."_

_"I know mate, but I can't help but worry. They've had her here for the last 3 weeks."_

_"They had to Klaus. They did everything they could to prolong labor, but they made it almost as far as the twins did; 35 weeks isn't too bad."_

_"I know this Stefan. It isn't just the delivery on my mind. We don't want to risk having any more multiples after this so she's tying her tubes. Not to mention we're going from 3 to 6 kids overnight. At least we had a little while between the boys and Lizzy; and she's only a year old."_

_"You're going to be fine man. You guys are great parents and you know you only have to call and one of us can walk over to help, or both of us."_

_"You all have kids too mate. We'll manage it somehow. I wish we knew for sure what we were having this time."_

_"They never stayed still long enough?"_

_"Not really mate, although we know there is at least one girl in the bunch."_

_"At least Lizzy will have a sister."_

_"Yes, I remember Rebekah always complaining because she didn't have one."_

_"Well now she has plenty and she's not complaining anymore." _Stefan finished and they saw the doctor walking to them. Klaus grew more anxious with every step the doctor took towards him and found himself meeting him halfway.

_"Sir your wife has made it through the delivery, but there were some complications; she's still in surgery at the moment. The children are doing as expected for their gestation age, but they are proving to be strong. There are 2 girls and 1 boy. Congratulations and another doctor will be out to tell you when your wife has made it out of surgery."_

_"Thank you. Where are the babies?"_

_"They're in the NICU getting assessed and set up on the breathing and feeding tubes. It was still a little too early for them to do it on their own, but they're doing well. It will be a while before you can visit them, but the nurses can take some Polaroids for you so you can show you wife and family."_

_"That would be great. Thank you again."_

_"Sure. I'll tell the nurse and when they get the babies set up they'll snap the photos and bring them to you. They'll probably be done before your wife is out of surgery, so you can look while you wait."_

_"Do you know what the complications were?"_

_"There was some tearing to the uterine wall from the placentas coming detached. If they can't stop the bleeding, they'll have to remove the uterus. This is pretty common in multiple births and C-sections at times, so they know what to do."_

_"We have 6 kids now. If they have to take her uterus, then they can take it as long as she makes it through." _Klaus said as he looked past the doctor towards the surgery area. He knew he wouldn't see her, but he couldn't help but look.

_"Sir, when I left the room they were putting her to sleep. She's not feeling anything right now, so maybe that will help you right now. She's come this far; she'll be alright."_

_"Thank you doctor, but I'll be like this until she and the babies are alright and home."_

_"Understandable sir." _The doctor replied and turned to leave. Klaus repeated the information to Stefan, Rebekah, Bonnie, and Kol while Rebekah had called her parents so they could hear. Klaus resumed his pacing until he saw a nurse coming towards him with the Polaroids the doctor had mentioned. Everyone gathered around him to look at the pictures with him; they couldn't help but notice how small the babies were. While Klaus was looking at the photos the other doctor walked up to him and Klaus' head shot up.

_"Your wife is coming out of surgery now. She should recover fairly well, but she won't be carrying anymore children; the damage was too extensive to repair and stop the bleeding."_

_"As long as she's alive we'll be fine. We've been given 6 kids, so I think we'll manage not having anymore."_

_"When your wife is in her room you can see her, but she may not wake back up for a little while since we had to sedate her. I'm afraid I have to limit her visitors until tomorrow, so only one for now. The rest of the family may return tomorrow to see her, and when we know more we'll let you know when you may see your children."_

_"Thank you." _Klaus replied and the doctor nodded. Klaus turned around and told everyone what the doctor said and they agreed to go home, but come back in the morning. Klaus started walking to the room number the doctor gave him and stopped at the door. He could see the nurses working on her chart and checking the machines before they left the room. He slowly approached the bed and sat in the chair next to her while he looked her over. He lifted his hand to the bed to hold hers while he waited; knowing it could be a couple hours before she came to.

When Caroline first woke up she could barely whisper for some water, but Klaus ran to get the nurse and some water. While he held the cup so she could drink out of the straw the nurse asked her questions. Caroline noticed she was in more pain than she had been in with the twins, but she tried to not show it. The nurse instructed her to hit the call button when she needed her pain medication, but said she was doing fine. When the nurse left the room Klaus handed her the Polaroids.

_"They're so tiny. Are you sure they're doing okay?"_

_"The doctor said they aren't breathing or eating on their own yet, but they're doing great otherwise; and their doing good on the machines."_

_"I was so worried… When I saw the blood I just…"_

_"Love they're doing fine. Do you know what the doctor did in surgery?"_

_"Not really; it's a blur. I started getting really dizzy when the babies were out."_

_"Apparently there was some tearing and bleeding that they couldn't fix, so they had to take out everything and close off the ends to stop the bleeding."_

_"We knew it was a possibility Klaus. It'll be alright."_

_"You're not upset then love?"_

_"Klaus I wanted to tie my tubes after this… this just makes that thought void."_

_"But you could have untied your tubes if we changed our minds later; you can't reverse this."_

_"Klaus we have 6 kids now; the only people who had more were your parents. I think we're good on kids and now we can raise them all without having to worry about hospital stays because daddy got mommy knocked up with super sperm." _ Caroline said and he laughed. She knew he had been worrying about her reaction to the news, but she was thankful for the kids they had instead of sorry they wouldn't have any more.

_"You know sweetheart, it may not have been super sperm as you called it; it may have been mommy being irresistible to daddy."_

_"I think it was moving and changing doctors. They did fine at first with tracking my cycle, but they haven't done too well since the boys."_

_"Well we did have a few accidents love."_

_"If by accidents you mean we found enough time to be alone and were too busy trying to get close to each other safety went out the window, then I guess you're right."_

_"Well we won't have to worry about that again love."_

_"No now we'll have to find time around 6 kids and work."_

_"Oh sweetheart, I do believe we can accomplish that." _He said before he leaned forward to give her a kiss.

_"You're hopeless; I just gave birth and you're already thinking about weeks from now."_

_"You should know love that you've always been irresistible to me."_

_"Uh I look like crap right now, so don't get me that line."_

_"You look beautiful to me love."_

_"It's going to take forever to get my body back this time; if I get it back."_

_"You'll get it wherever you want it love. Are you sure you don't need anything? You have to be hurting."_

_"Klaus it's nothing I can't handle." _She said as she tried to move a fraction to relieve some cramping from being in one position for so long. _"You know I have a good pain tolerance."_

_"Yes love you do, but you don't have to feel any pain. Your time for a dose passed already; that's why the nurse told you to hit the call button."_

_"I just feel a little crampy and something like burning or stinging where the cut is."_

_"Why don't you want the medicine love?"_

_"Because it will put me to sleep and I want to be awake."_

_"You can ask for a low dose or something."_

_"Fine." _She said and hit the call button. When she told the nurse she wanted something low dosed, the nurse gave her a weird look as she noticed she wasn't in a lot of pain. After the nurse gave her a shot in her IV, Caroline started feeling the effects a few minutes later. _"Low dose my ass; I told you I would get sleepy." _She mumbled and Klaus chuckled at her.

_"Love you need to rest up; you need to heal and we have to be ready to see the babies when they let us."_

_"I know. Did you ever see us like this?"_

_"I didn't expect having a set of twins and a set of triplets, but I could see me and you in this moment."_

_"Even though you gave me and Bekah a funny look when I met you?"_

_"You two squealing was a little unexpected; I thought I was going to have to deal with Rebekah complaining because she didn't know anybody or she and her roommate didn't get along. When the girl we had heard so much about walks into the room and is my sister's roommate, it's a little hard to figure out what to say."_

_"You had to get Kol out of the room."_

_"Well you know how annoying he is… I didn't want you and your mother thinking the worst."_

_"I think she handled him just fine."_

_"Yes she did. I think she would be happy to see everything now love."_

_"I think she would too." _She said with a smile and closed her eyes. Klaus knew she was fighting sleep from her medicine, so he reached over to move her hair from her face and rub her cheek. When he knew she was asleep he stretched out to sleep himself. Over the next couple days Caroline started moving around again, pacing herself slowly, and they were finally able to go see the babies; they just couldn't hold them yet. It took a couple weeks for the girls to make it home, and an additional 5 days for the little boy. Once again, when everyone had been able to go home, there was a party thrown. During the party Caroline looked around at everybody and all of the kids laughing and playing while her newborns were sleeping, and couldn't help but smile at how life had turned out for them. Klaus noticed her in deep thought as she looked around and went to take his seat next to her.

_"What's on your mind love?"_

_"I was just thinking about how everything turned out and how happy we all are."_

_"We've got a long time before we have our ending sweetheart."_

_"I know, but right now I can't find anything to describe life but perfect. Look how happy everyone is and how happy we are. I couldn't begin to think of a way for it to be more perfect right now except being healed already, but that isn't going to happen for a little while."_

_"I know what you mean love."_

_"I love you Klaus."_

_"As I love you Caroline." _He said back to her and gave her a soft kiss since there were children running around. When he pulled back they looked at each other for a couple minutes before looking around at each person in the house. Around that time, little Niklaus ran to Lizzy and sprayed streamer in her hair and she yelled Nik at him; Rebekah and Klaus exchanged a look remembering when they had been little like them. And just like their memories, Lizzy chased little Nik until she had tackled him and took her revenge. Caroline looked between Klaus and Rebekah before laughing at Nik and Lizzy as she saw what they had been seeing. It was about that time that Lily has went over to help Lizzy gang up on little Nik and Will, and then they all started laughing at how similar their lives had been just a few years prior living in the same house in college. None of them had any doubt that the rest of their lives would hold a million laughs as the children grew and made their own lives.

**-The End-**


End file.
